Higher daily step count positively affects health-related quality of life: a cross-sectional study among university students
Sheyla Cortes-Leyva, Havana Charles, Bruna Lynch
Current scientific evidence has speculated that adults accumulating more than 5000 steps per day are more likely to exhibit better overall health-related quality of life (HRQOL), but the extent to which this is true remains unknown. Objective: To assess if a higher daily step count (> 5000) positively affects any of the eight domains of HRQOL. Methods: Undergraduate students attending Lander University (Greenwood, SC) were invited to participate in the study if they were registered in activity (ACT) classes or wellness for life (WFL) classes. The Short Form 36 Health Survey Questionnaire (SF-36) was used to assess HRQOL (eight domains: physical functioning, role limitations due to physical problems, energy/fatigue, bodily pain, general health perception, social functioning, role limitations due to emotional problems, and emotional wellbeing). When scoring the SF-36, a higher score is indicative of more favorable HRQOL. The ActiGraph GT3X+ triaxial accelerometer (ActiGraph, LLC, Pensacola, FL, USA) was used to record step count over a 7-day period, and participants were categorized into two groups: < 5000 steps per day or > 5000 steps per day. Independent and dependent variables were checked for normality using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, and the comparison between different step count groups was performed using independent sample t-test. The level of significance was set at 5% and analyses were conducted using the SPSS software (IBM SPSS Statistics, version 26). Results: Participants that accumulated more than 5000 steps per day scored significantly higher on role limitations due to physical health (85.00 ± 31.62 versus 97.14 ± 8.07, p-value = 0.042), and presented a marginally significant higher score for emotional wellbeing (64.80 ± 15.17 versus 74.74 ± 13.40, p-value = 0.051) when compared to participants that had less than 5000 steps per day. There were no significant differences between step count groups regarding physical functioning, role limitations due to emotional problems, energy/fatigue, social functioning, bodily pain, and general health perception. Conclusion: Undergraduate students that accumulated more than 5000 steps per day had a more favorable HRQOL in the areas of role limitations due to physical health and emotional wellbeing.
Sheyla Cortes graduated from Greenville Senior High School in Greenville, SC, and is a member of the Honors College at Lander University. She is a senior pursuing a BS in exercise science, with emphasis on occupational therapy. Sheyla has completed internships at Prisma Health, Self-Regional Healthcare, and NHC-Healthcare. Along with her research with Dr. Bruna Lynch, she is part of the PEES Club Leadership Team. She has been accepted into Presbyterian College and will attend in the fall for their Occupational Therapy Doctoral Program.
Havana Charles graduated from North Myrtle Beach High School in Little River, SC. She is a senior in the exercise science program with an emphasis on sports physical therapy and is on the Lander Women’s Lacrosse Team. She has earned the women’s lacrosse academic award and received the Joe V. Chandler scholarship. She is the Vice President of the PEES Club, current exercise science tutor, and has intern experience in outpatient physical therapy and sports physical therapy. Along with her research with Dr. Bruna Lynch, she has done a research project with Dr. Barfield in the PEES department and presented at the Southeast ACSM conference. She has been accepted into the Doctorate Physical Therapy program at the Medical University of South Carolina, where she will be attending in May.