Test-retest reliability, agreement and construct validity of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire short-form (IPAQ-sf) in people with COPD

Introduction This study assessed the test-retest reliability/agreement and construct validity of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire short-form (IPAQ-sf) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It also explored differences in its validity according to age, sex and GOLD airflow obstruction levels. Methods 62 participants (68 ± 8 years, 53 males, FEV1 51 ± 23%pred) completed the Portuguese IPAQ-sf, wore an accelerometer for 7 days and completed a second IPAQ-sf. Test-retest reliability/agreement was assessed with Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC2,1), 95% Limits of Agreement (LoA), standard error of measurement (SEM) and minimal detectable change (MDC95) for continuous variables, and percentage of agreement (%agreement) for categories (“active”/“inactive”). Validity was assessed with 95% LoA and Spearman's correlations (ρ) between IPAQ-sf 2 (METs-min/week, time in vigorous [VPA], moderate PA [MPA] and walking) and accelerometry (time in MVPA, VPA, MPA and step counts) for continuous variables; %agreement, Cohen's kappa, and sensitivity specificity and±predictive values for categories. Correlations were also performed for age, sex and GOLD airflow obstruction grades. Results Reliability was good (ICC2,1 = 0.707) with wide LoA (-6446—6409 METs-min/week). SEM and MDC95 were 1840 and 4971 METs-min/week, respectively. %agreement between the two IPAQ-sf was 84% (kappa = 0.660). Positive, moderate and significant correlations were found between IPAQ-sf and accelerometry (0.396 ≤ ρ ≤ 0.527, p < 0.001), except for VPA (p > 0.05). The strongest correlations were found in age (<65 years) and male (0.466 ≤ ρ ≤ 0.653, p < 0.05). %agreement between tools was 65% (kappa = 0.313), with high sensitivity (0.830) but low specificity (0.500). Conclusions The IPAQ-sf seems valid to be used in COPD but caution on its widespread use is recommended as its accuracy may be limited.

Keywords

Accelerometer Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Physical activity Psychometric properties Validation study

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.8/7937

Citation

Flora S., Marques A., Hipólito N., Morais N., Silva C., Januário F, Rodrigues F., Carreira B., & Cruz J. (2022). Test-retest reliability, agreement and construct validity of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire short-form (IPAQ-sf) in people with COPD. Respiratory Medicine, 206. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rmed.2022.107087.