Noncardiac chest pain (NCCP) is one of the leading reasons for emergency department visits and significantly limits patients’ daily functioning. The protective effect of physical activity has been established in a number of pain problems, but its role in the course of NCCP is unknown. This study aimed to document the level of physical activity in patients with NCCP and its association with NCCP-related disability in the 6 months following an emergency department visit. In this prospective, longitudinal, cohort study, participants with NCCP were recruited in two emergency departments. They were contacted by telephone for the purpose of conducting a medical and sociodemographic interview, after which a set of questionnaires was sent to them. Participants were contacted again 6 months later for an interview aimed to assess their NCCP-related disability. The final sample consisted of 279 participants (57.0% females), whose mean age was 54.6 (standard deviation = 15.3) years. Overall, the proportion of participants who were physically active in their leisure time, based on the Actimètre questionnaire criteria, was 22.0%. Being physically active at the first measurement time point was associated with a 38% reduction in the risk of reporting NCCP-related disability in the following 6 months (ρ = .047). This association remained significant after controlling for confounding variables. Being physically active seems to have a protective effect on the occurrence of NCCP-related disability in the 6 months following an emergency department visit with NCCP. These results point to the importance of further exploring the benefits of physical activity in this population.

中文翻译：

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非心源性胸痛患者的身体活动和残疾：一项纵向队列研究。

非心源性胸痛 (NCCP) 是急诊就诊的主要原因之一，严重限制了患者的日常功能。身体活动对许多疼痛问题的保护作用已得到证实，但其在 NCCP 过程中的作用尚不清楚。本研究旨在记录 NCCP 患者在急诊科就诊后 6 个月内的体力活动水平及其与 NCCP 相关残疾的关联。在这项前瞻性纵向队列研究中，两个急诊科招募了 NCCP 参与者。我们通过电话联系他们，进行医学和社会人口学访谈，然后向他们发送了一套调查问卷。6 个月后再次联系参与者进行采访，旨在评估他们与 NCCP 相关的残疾。最终样本由 279 名参与者（57.0% 女性）组成，平均年龄为 54.6（标准差 = 15.3）岁。总体而言，根据 Actimètre 问卷标准，在闲暇时间进行身体活动的参与者比例为 22.0%。在第一个测量时间点进行身体活动与随后 6 个月内报告 NCCP 相关残疾的风险降低 38% 相关 (ρ = .047)。在控制混杂变量后，这种关联仍然显着。在急诊科就诊 NCCP 后的 6 个月内，进行体力活动似乎对发生 NCCP 相关残疾具有保护作用。这些结果表明了进一步探索体育活动对该人群的好处的重要性。