Fitness Trackers Might Help Predict Multiple Sclerosis Progression

Key TakeawaysFitness trackers might help doctors predict deterioration among multiple sclerosis patientsPatients whose activity levels declined, particularly in the morning, had an increased risk of disease progressionDeclining activity levels also were linked to brain atrophy.THURSDAY, March 5, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Wrist-worn fitness tracking devices might be able to predict whether a person with multiple sclerosis is more likely to have worsening disability, a new study says.Data from fitness trackers showed not only who was at higher risk of disease progression, but whose brains might be in danger of deterioration, researchers reported March 4 in the journal Neurology.“Timely identification of patients at risk for disease progression is essential to reduce long-term disability, but the current tests for measuring MS disability are not designed to detect small changes,” said lead researcher Kathryn Fitzgerald, an assistant professor of neurology and epidemiology with Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.“Using a relatively inexpensive and accessible device around the wrist may help us identify early changes in the disease,” she said in a news release.For the study, researchers equipped 238 people with MS with a fitness tracker that measured how much physical activity they had during the day, how much time they spent sitting or inactive, as well as their sleep cycles.Participants were asked to wear the devices around the clock for two weeks, and they repeated the process every three months for an average of three years.During the study, 120 people had their MS progress, and their physical activity patterns reflected those at higher risk, researchers said.Specifically, people who had decreased activity during the first half of the day were 20% more likely to have their MS grow worse than those who had no decreases in their activity level, the study found.Declines in morning activity levels also were linked to brain atrophy among MS patients, with decreases in whole brain volume, gray matter and the thalamus – a brain structure that processes sensory and motor information.“More research is needed to confirm these findings, but it’s exciting to think that using easily accessible devices could help us predict who is at risk of worsening disease and potentially prevent those changes,” senior researcher Dr. Ellen Mowry, director of neuroimmunology and neurological infections at Johns Hopkins University, said in a news release.“Detecting small changes could also help us speed up research on new treatments,” she said.More informationThe National Multiple Sclerosis Society has more on multiple sclerosis.SOURCE: American Academy of Neurology, news release, March 4, 2026 .What This Means For YouFitness trackers might be able to detect movement patterns that presage worsening disability among people with multiple sclerosis, a new study says..Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter