# Physical activity, sedentary behaviour and health-related quality of life in 929 women with primary Raynaud’s phenomenon

## TL;DR

The study found that women with Raynaud’s phenomenon are physically active but report lower quality of life and higher stress compared to those without the condition.

## Contribution

This study is one of the first to analyze physical activity and quality of life in a large cohort of women with primary Raynaud’s phenomenon.

## Key findings

- Women with Raynaud’s phenomenon spent 300 min/week on moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, exceeding non-RP women.
- Despite physical activity, women with Raynaud’s phenomenon had lower health-related quality of life and higher stress levels.
- Sedentary behavior was similar between women with and without Raynaud’s phenomenon.

## Abstract

Women with primary Raynaud’s phenomenon (RP) often experience a decreased health-related quality of life (HRQoL). A physically active lifestyle could improve vascular function and HRQoL.

This study aimed to quantify the amount and type of physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviour, as well as HRQoL and stress, in women with primary RP from a large population-based cohort (Lifelines).

A total of 19,820 adult (≥ 18 years) women from the Lifelines cohort were included; 929 of these were classified as having RP based on the connective tissue disease (CTD) screening questionnaire. Participant characteristics, data on PA and sedentary behaviour, HRQoL and stress were retrieved from the database.

Women with RP reported 300 min/week minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), which was more than women without RP (255 min/week, p ≤ .001). Women (74%) with RP complied to health enhancing PA guidelines (70% of women without RP, p = .003). Sedentary time was comparable. Women with RP had a low score on almost all eight domains of the HRQoL questionnaire. The Long-term Difficulties Inventory (LDI) showed a high stress level in the RP group (p < .001).

Most women with RP reported to spent a sufficient amount of time on MVPA and thus comply to health enhancing PA guidelines. The PA and sedentary behaviour of women with RP seems comparable to that of women without RP. However, HRQoL was lower and stress levels were higher in women with RP; more research is needed to elucidate the relation between PA and HRQoL in RP.
Key Points• Experiencing symptoms of Raynaud’s phenomenon seem no obstacle for being physically active.• Focus on women with symptoms of Raynaud’s phenomenon in a large cohort.• Nearly 75% of the women with symptoms of Raynaud’s phenomenon comply to the physical activity guidelines.• Women with symptoms of Raynaud’s phenomenon have low levels of health-related quality of life and experience a high stress level.

• Experiencing symptoms of Raynaud’s phenomenon seem no obstacle for being physically active.

• Focus on women with symptoms of Raynaud’s phenomenon in a large cohort.

• Nearly 75% of the women with symptoms of Raynaud’s phenomenon comply to the physical activity guidelines.

• Women with symptoms of Raynaud’s phenomenon have low levels of health-related quality of life and experience a high stress level.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10067-025-07416-w.