Coherence between self-reported and objectively measured physical activity in patients with chronic obstructive lung disease: a systematic review

Abstract

The beneficial effects of physical activity (PA) in patients with COPD, as well as the methods of their assessment, are well known and described. As objective measures of PA, such as the use of motion sensors, video recordings, exercise capacity testing, and indirect calorimetry, are not easily obtained in the daily clinical life, the reliability of the more accessible self-reported measurements of PA is important. In this review, we systematically identified original studies involving COPD patients and at least one parameter of self-reported and objective exercise testing, and analyzed every article for coherence between the objectively and self-reported measured PA. The studies are few, small, and very diverse, both in their use of questionnaires and objective measurements. Self-reported assessments were found to generally overestimate the level of PA compared to measurements made objectively by activity monitors; however, more studies are needed to rely solely on the use of PA questionnaires in COPD patients. The most accurate and valid questionnaires appear to be the self-completed Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly and the interviewer-completed Stanford Seven-Day Physical Activity Recall Questionnaire, but the ideal questionnaire still awaits construction. The motion sensors are accurate and validated in this patient group, especially SenseWear™, but not easily accessible in clinical practice, as they have various technical and adhesive difficulties.

The association between objectively measured physical activity and morning symptoms in COPD

“…However, it is known that self-reported outcomes show discrepancies to objective measured outcomes,38 and therefore we assessed physical activity using an established activity monitor 19,39. Indeed, when analyzing the data retrieved from these monitors we found a relationship between objectively measured physical activity and an increase in morning symptom severity.…”

Self-reported daily walking time in COPD: relationship with relevant clinical and functional characteristics

“…This percentage might be considered low compared with previous studies quantifying daily walking time in COPD3 but may be due to differences in the characteristics of the COPD patient samples studied, differences in localization and climate that have been reported to affect physical activity,26 and the instrument used to capture walking time (eg, self-reported methods have the potential to overestimate the amount of physical activity performed),8,27 among others.…”

A systematic review on self‐determination theory in physical education

“…In contrast, accelerometers, that can measure acceleration counts in real‐time and detect movements in three orthogonal planes, were always positively correlated with the beneficial forms of motivation and the motivation indexes. While subjective methods to measure PA are used in many of our selected studies, and despite the fact that the relation between motivation parameters and PA are mostly positive with these measurement tools (ie, questionnaires and self‐reports), these results must be handled with caution as PA could be overestimated …”

“…While subjective methods to measure PA are used in many of our selected studies, and despite the fact that the relation between motivation parameters and PA are mostly positive with these measurement tools (ie, questionnaires and self-reports), these results must be handled with caution as PA could be overestimated. 74 Nevertheless, the whole physical education learning process is very complex. Physical activity represents only one part, and as said by Hollis et al 7 "meeting the 50% MVPA target is only one aspect of measuring the quality of PE lessons."…”