Validity of a physical activity questionnaire in Shanghai

Area of Science:

• Epidemiology
• Public Health
• Biostatistics

Background:

• Physical activity (PA) assessment in large epidemiologic studies often relies on physical activity questionnaires (PAQ).
• Existing PAQ may not adequately capture the diverse range of physical activities undertaken by urban Chinese adults.
• A novel PAQ was developed to address this gap in assessment for this specific population.

Purpose of the Study:

• To validate a newly developed physical activity questionnaire (PAQ) for urban Chinese adults.
• To assess the one-year stability of physical activity measurements obtained using the PAQ.
• To compare the PAQ's validity against accelerometry and a PA-log.

Main Methods:

• The PAQ was administered twice, one year apart, to 545 urban Shanghai adults.
• Participants also wore accelerometers and completed a PA-log for seven consecutive days every three months.
• Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) evaluated PAQ stability; Spearman correlation coefficients (ρ) and Bland-Altman plots assessed validity against objective measures.

Main Results:

• The PAQ demonstrated moderate to high one-year stability for total PA (ICC = 0.65) and its domains (ICC = 0.45-0.85).
• Correlations between the PAQ and accelerometry for total PA, moderate-to-vigorous activity, light activity, and sedentary behavior ranged from ρ = 0.16 to 0.36.
• Correlations of the PAQ with the PA-log (ρ = 0.36-0.85) were stronger than those with accelerometry.

Conclusions:

• The developed PAQ showed significant stability over a one-year period in urban Chinese adults.
• Compared to accelerometry, the PAQ tended to overestimate moderate-to-vigorous activity and underestimate light activity and sedentary behavior.
• Despite some discrepancies with objective measures, the PAQ proved effective in ranking individuals based on their physical activity levels.