Development of a questionnaire to assess sedentary time in older persons--a comparative study using accelerometry

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Physical Activity Measurement
• Public Health

Background:

• No validated questionnaire exists for total sedentary time in older adults.
• Previous studies relied on limited indicators like TV viewing time.
• This study addresses the need for a comprehensive sedentary behavior assessment tool.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate self-reported sedentary time in older adults compared to objective accelerometry.
• To identify a set of self-reported sedentary activities that validly rank total sedentary time.
• To test the reliability of a newly developed questionnaire for sedentary behavior.

Main Methods:

• 83 older adults (65-92 years) completed a 10-item sedentary activity questionnaire.
• Objective sedentary time was measured using Actigraph GT3X accelerometry for 8 days.
• Spearman correlation and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were used for analysis.

Main Results:

• Mean total self-reported sedentary time (10.4 h/d) was comparable to objective time (10.2 h/d).
• A six-activity questionnaire showed a stronger correlation (r=0.46) with objective sedentary time than TV viewing alone (r=0.22).
• The test-retest reliability for the six-activity questionnaire was 0.71.

Conclusions:

• A six-activity questionnaire offers a moderately accurate and reliable method for assessing sedentary time in older adults.
• This tool provides a more comprehensive assessment than relying solely on TV viewing time.
• The findings support the use of this questionnaire for ranking sedentary behavior in geriatric populations.