International Journal of Neurorehabilitation

Improvements in Quality of Life in Individuals with Friedreich’s Ataxia after Participation in a 5-Year Program of Physical Activity: An observational Study Pre-Post Test Design, and Two Years Follow-Up

Abstract

Jesus Seco, Inés Gago Fernández, Ainhoa Fernández Atutxa, Jon Torres-Unda, Inés Casado Verdejo and Vicente Rodrigez Pérez

Purpose: To determine the effects of a physical activity-based rehabilitation focused on quality of life in individuals with FA who completed a five-year program. Methods: The study design was longitudinal and observational with pre- and post-test assessments, and two years follow-up. We studied 16 patients with FA. Participants received pharmacological treatment and took part in a physical activity rehabilitation program (intervention group) or received pharmacological treatment alone (controls). They were all assessed using the International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale (ICARS), SF-36 Health Survey and Functional Independence Measure (FIM). Changes over time and differences between groups were assessed with repeated measure analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Student´s t-tests. Results: In the intervention group, a change in the distribution of the mean ICARS score from 93.10 ± 4.63 to 94.90 ± 4.50 suggested a slight worsening in ataxia (not significant). In contrast, the means on the SF-36 (43.89 ± 5.55 to 51.70 ± 4.19) and FIM (50.20 ± 16.02 to 59.20 ± 15.01) both increased significantly over time. That is, after the treatment, patients in the intervention group showed a significant improvement in communication, daily living skills and socialization, and the improvement in their quality of life was maintained at the two-year follow-up. Conclusions: Long-term rehabilitation improved physical capacity and health-related quality of life. This study provides evidence for maintaining long-term physical activity programs in institutionalized patients with FA.