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Physical Activity Levels in Children with Bronchiectasis Living in Counties Manukau, New Zealand.

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Thesis is embargoed till 24 May 2026(1.94 MB)

Date

2023

Authors

Supervisor

Mooney, Sarah
Ellis, Richard

Item type

Thesis

Degree name

Master of Health Science

Journal Title

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Publisher

Auckland University of Technology

Abstract

The ability to participate in physical activity is widely accepted as one of the most important indicators of a child’s overall health and wellbeing. Current bronchiectasis guidelines state that children should be encouraged to participate in regular physical activity, but there is minimal guidance supporting these recommendations and limited knowledge surrounding current physical activity participation within Counties Manukau, New Zealand. Therefore, the primary aim of this study was to investigate how physically active children with bronchiectasis living in this population, are compared to their healthy peers, and how often they achieved daily recommendations of at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) across the week. Secondary aims sought to identify whether there were associations between MVPA and demographic or disease severity markers, and the mode of activity and time of day children with bronchiectasis were engaged in physical activity. A quantitative, cross sectional, observational study was undertaken. The study aimed to recruit 90 children between 7 to 12 years old from Counties Manukau District Health Board. However, due to the impact of COVID-19 restrictions, only 31 children (18 children with bronchiectasis and 13 healthy children) were able to complete the study. Daily minutes spent in MVPA was measured objectively over seven consecutive days using wrist-based ActiGraph wGT3X+ accelerometers. Mode of activity and time of day children engaged in physical activity were measured using the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Children (PAQ-C). On average children within the Bronchiectasis group, completed 31.63 (p = 0.034) less minutes of MVPA per day than the children within the Control group, with both groups demonstrating significantly higher (p = 0.002) MVPA minutes on weekdays compared to weekend days. On average, 62.3% of the Bronchiectasis group and 86.4% of the Control group achieved daily MVPA recommendations across the week, as outlined by the World Health Organization. There were weak to moderate associations found between MVPA minutes and body mass index (BMI) and socioeconomic hardship, with trends suggestive that fewer MVPA minutes were achieved by children with bronchiectasis who were female, who had lower FEV1% predicted (50-79%), less than three lobes with bronchiectasis, and a recent hospital admission. Children from both groups demonstrated they were most active at school during the week and primarily during informal school yard games, compared to organised activities. These findings show that children with bronchiectasis are less active than their peers and would benefit from routine physical activity assessment, as part of standardised bronchiectasis management. Interventions and community-led initiatives that promote physical activity participation, especially over the weekend, are required to increase general MVPA achievement, improve overall health and wellbeing and reducing secondary co-morbidities associated with inactivity.

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Permanent link

https://hdl.handle.net/10292/16176

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Masters Theses