Physical Activity in Daily Life Assessed by an Accelerometer in Kidney Transplant Recipients and Hemodialysis Patients

Background. Sedentary lifestyle is a problem among hemodialysis (HD) patients, potentially attenuated after kidney transplantation. However, the effect of kidney transplantation on physical activity has not been thoroughly investigated. Objective. This study sought to evaluate the physical activity in daily life in kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) compared with HD patients and to explore its relationship with clinical variables. Methods. A cross-sectional study enrolled KTRs who received transplants at least 6 months before the study (N = 23; 48.3 +/- 10.3 years) and patients undergoing HD for at least 6 months (N = 20; 47.3 +/- 12.6 years). Time spent in different activities (walking, standing, sitting, and lying down) and number of steps taken, measured by a multiaxial accelerometer used for 12 h/d on 2 consecutive days for KTRs and on 4 consecutive days for HD patients, were evaluated. Results. KTRs engaged in more active time per day (sum of walking and standing time) than HD patients (311 +/- 87 vs 196 +/- 54 min/d; P = :001), with longer walking (106 +/- 53 vs 70 +/- 27 min/d; P = .008) and standing time (205 +/- 55 vs 126 +/- 42 min/d; P < .001). Sixty-five percent of KTRs were classified as active (>7500 steps/d) compared with only 20% of the HD group (P < .05). The multivariate analysis showed that time posttransplantation was significantly associated with walking time and active time. Conclusions. By using an accelerometer, a precise method, this study showed that KTRs are significantly more active in daily life than HD patients, and that daily physical activity increases with time since transplantation.