Diagnostic accuracy of pre-exercise screening questionnaire: emphasis on educational level and cognitive status

The physical activity readiness questionnaire (PAR-Q) has been the most popular simple method of screening for people who intend to engage in exercise programs. Despite of the recommendations indicating that the instrument should be applied in the age range from 15 to 69 years, the questionnaire has been widely used in elderly people. The aim of this study was to assess the diagnostic accuracy of PAR-Q in elderly women with respect to absolute and relative contraindications to exercise and verify the influence of educational level and cognitive status. Eighty-nine subjects (61-89 years) participated in the study and went through clinical exams and exercise testing. The influence of educational status, age and cognitive state (Mini-Mental State Examination, MMSE) on the PAR-Q responses was analyzed by logistic regression. The occurrences of absolute and relative contraindications were respectively 9% and 22%. The Sensitivity and Specificity were 75.0% and 19.8% (absolute) and 77.8% and 19.7% (relative). The PAR-Q results were not influenced by low educational status; age, or cognitive state. In conclusion, although the usefulness and easy applicability of the PAR-Q's questions, the responses to the questionnaire led to a high number of false positive and false negative cases, suggesting that it would not be adequate as a pre-participation screening tool in elder samples.