Abstract
PurposeThe long-term impact of primary care behavior change programs on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and physical activity (PA) level is unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate changes in HRQoL and PA among participants after a 3-month behavior change intervention at Norwegian healthy life center (HLCs) and at a 15-month follow-up. Furthermore, we aimed to study associations between changes in PA and HRQoL.MethodsWe followed 524 adult participants (18–83 years), recruited from 32 HLCs in August 2016–January 2018, who provided data on HRQoL (SF-36) and PA (ActiGraph accelerometers) 12 months after a 3-month behavior change intervention. Changes in HRQoL and PA between baseline, 3-month and 15-month follow-ups, and associations between changes in PA and HRQoL were analyzed by linear mixed models.ResultsAll HRQoL dimensions improved from baseline to 3-month follow-up, and the improvements maintained at 15-month follow-up (mean 3.1–13.1 points, p < 0.001). PA increased from baseline to 3 months (mean 418 steps/day, p < 0.001), but declined from 3 to 15 months (mean − 371 steps/day, p < 0.001). We observed positive associations between changes in PA and HRQoL (0.84–3.23 points per 1000 steps/day, p < 0.023).ConclusionsTwelve months after completing a 3-month HLC intervention we found improved HRQoL, but not PA level. Still, there were positive associations between PA and HRQoL over this period, indicating that participants increasing their PA were more likely to improve their HRQoL.
Highlights
Physical inactivity, together with smoking and an unhealthy diet, are among the most important behavioral risk factors for premature death and disability [1]
A total of 524 participants (51% of individuals included at baseline) completed either valid SF-36 and/or valid physical activity (PA) measurements at the 15-month follow-up and were included in the analysis (Fig. 1)
The present study showed that health-related quality of life (HRQoL) was improved after participation at a 3-month healthy life centers (HLCs) behavior change program within the primary care
Summary
Together with smoking and an unhealthy diet, are among the most important behavioral risk factors for premature death and disability [1]. These risk factors tend to cluster and are more frequently observed among groups with low socioeconomic status and multiple chronic conditions [2,3,4]. Individuals with multiple chronic conditions and low physical activity (PA) levels tend to report low health-related quality of life (HRQoL) [5,6,7,8]. Based on previous work on clinical populations, clinically important changes were considered at a ≥ 5-point difference [5, 34,35,36,37]
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