The following is a summary of “Test-retest reliability, agreement and construct validity of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire short-form (IPAQ-sf) in people with COPD,” published in the January, 2023 issue of Pulmonology by Flora, et al.
For a study, individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) had their construct validity and test-retest reliability of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire short-form (IPAQ-sf) evaluated by the researchers. They also looked at how its validity varied according to age, sex, and GOLD airflow obstruction levels.
The Portuguese IPAQ-sf was completed by 62 individuals (68 ± 8 years, 53 males, FEV1 51 ± 23%pred), who also underwent an accelerometer wear test and a second IPAQ-sf. The reliability and agreement between tests were evaluated using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC2,1), the 95% Limits of Agreement (LoA), the standard error of measurement (SEM), the minimal detectable change (MDC95), and the percentage of agreement (%agreement) for categories (“active”/”inactive”). 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, validity was evaluated using 95% LoA and Spearman’s correlations (ρ); agreement, Cohen’s kappa, and sensitivity specificity and predictive values for categories. Additionally, correlations were run for GOLD airflow obstruction grades, sex, and age.
Wide LoA and strong reliability (ICC2,1 = 0.707) (-6446—6409 METs-min/week). SEM and MDC95 had weekly MET-min values of 1,840 and 4,971, respectively. The two IPAQ-sf had an 84% agreement rate (kappa = 0.660). With the exception of VPA (P > 0.05), there were positive, moderate, and significant correlations between IPAQ-sf and accelerometry (0.396 ≤ ρ ≤ 0.527, P < 0.001). Male gender and age (<65 years) were shown to have the greatest relationships (0.466 ≤ ρ ≤ 0.653, P < 0.05). 65% (kappa = 0.313) of the tools agreed, with high sensitivity (0.830) but low specificity (0.500).
The IPAQ-sf appeared to be appropriate for use in COPD. However, care was advised before using it extensively as its accuracy could be compromised.
Reference: resmedjournal.com/article/S0954-6111(22)00352-3/fulltext