Reliability of the Thai version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Form in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

To determine the reliability of the Thai version of International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Form (IPAQ-SF) in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) patients.

A cross sectional study was carried out in COPD subjects at Chiang Dao hospital, Chiang Mai, Thailand in June and July 2019. COPD subjects were asked to complete the Thai version of the IPAQ-SF. Calculations for each level of activity were carried out separately (vigorous activity, moderate activity, walking, and sitting). This was carried out twice with an interval of four weeks between visits. The test-retest reliability of the IPAQ was assessed using the intraclass correlation (ICC) with a 95% confidence interval (CI). Cohen's kappa coefficient and percentage agreement were used to test the repeatability of the physical activity classification between the two visits.

Sixty COPD subjects (50% male), with a mean age of 71.2 ± 7.7 years were included. The least reliability was established for sitting time (ICC = 0.439; 95%CI; 0.212, 0.621, p-value < 0.001) and the greatest for the total physical activity (ICC = 0.837; 95%CI; 0.741, 0.899, p-value < 0.001). The Kappa statistic was 0.433 with a 95%CI; 0.237, 0.639, p-value < 0.001 and the percentage agreement of the physical activity classification between the two visits was 66.7%.

The test-retest reliability was adequate for vigorous activity and total physical activity. Although there are concerns about the agreement for classification of physical activity, the IPAQ-SF may be a useful if not definitive tool for assessing physical activity in COPD.