Baseline engagement with healthy lifestyles and their associations with health outcomes in people with multiple sclerosis enrolled in an online multimodal lifestyle course.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to assess baseline engagement with vitamin D supplementation (≥5000 IU/day) as part of a multimodal lifestyle intervention and its association with health outcomes in people with multiple sclerosis.
Results Summary
At baseline, 29.8% of participants engaged in vitamin D supplementation. Engagement with multiple healthy behaviours, including vitamin D, was associated with better health outcomes, but the study did not isolate vitamin D's specific efficacy.
Population
People with multiple sclerosis (n=857)
Effective Dosage
≥5000 IU/day
Duration
Not specified (baseline data only)
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
nonsmoking | increase | health outcomes | participants (people with multiple sclerosis) | - | independently associated with better health outcomes | #1 |
physical activity | increase | health outcomes | participants (people with multiple sclerosis) | - | independently associated with better health outcomes | #2 |
diet | increase | health outcomes | participants (people with multiple sclerosis) | - | independently associated with better health outcomes | #3 |
multiple behaviours, especially diet and physical activity | increase | outcomes | participants (people with multiple sclerosis) | - | associated with better outcomes | #4 |
≥4 behaviours | increase | mental QoL | participants (people with multiple sclerosis) | 9.0-point higher | associated with a 9.0-point higher mental QoL | #5 |
≥4 behaviours | increase | physical QoL | participants (people with multiple sclerosis) | 9.5-point higher | associated with a 9.5-point higher physical QoL | #6 |
≥4 behaviours | decrease | prevalence of fatigue | participants (people with multiple sclerosis) | 23% lower | associated with 23% lower prevalence of fatigue | #7 |
≥4 behaviours | decrease | prevalence of moderate disability | participants (people with multiple sclerosis) | 56% lower | associated with 56% lower prevalence of moderate disability | #8 |
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Healthy lifestyle behaviour modification may improve health outcomes in people with multiple sclerosis (pwMS), but empirical evidence is needed to confirm prior study findings. We developed an online multimodal lifestyle intervention (Multiple Sclerosis Online Course) to examine the impact of lifestyle modification on health outcomes in pwMS via a randomized control trial (RCT). However, the present study specifically analyses baseline data to assess engagement with healthy lifestyles by RCT participants and cross-sectional associations with health outcomes. METHODS: Baseline engagement with six "healthy lifestyle behaviours" of the intervention course (high-quality, plant-based diet; ≥5000 IU/day vitamin D; omega-3 supplementation; ≥30 min physical activity 5 times/week; ≥30 min/week meditation; and nonsmoking) was examined. Associations between individual versus collective behaviours (individual behaviours summated) and health outcomes (quality of life [QoL]/fatigue/disability) were evaluated using multivariate modelling (linear/log-binomial/multinomial). RESULTS: At baseline, 33.7% and 30.0% of participants (n = 857) engaged in one or two healthy behaviours, respectively. In total, engagement with healthy lifestyles by participants was as follows: nonsmoking, 90.7%; omega-3 supplementation, 34.5%; vitamin D supplementation, 29.8%; physical activity, 29.4%; diet, 10.7%; and meditation, 10.5%. Individual behaviours (nonsmoking/physical activity/diet) were independently associated with better health outcomes. Engagement with multiple behaviours, especially diet and physical activity, was associated with better outcomes; engaging with ≥4 behaviours was associated with a 9.0-point higher mental QoL and a 9.5-point higher physical QoL, as well as 23% and 56% lower prevalence of fatigue and moderate disability, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Baseline engagement with ≥4 healthy behaviours, including diet and physical activity, was associated with better health outcomes.