Validity of the activPAL3 activity monitor in people moderately affected by Multiple Sclerosis

Coulter, E.H. et al. (2017) Validity of the activPAL3 activity monitor in people moderately affected by Multiple Sclerosis. Medical Engineering and Physics, 45, pp. 78-82. (doi: 10.1016/j.medengphy.2017.03.008) (PMID:28408158)

Abstract

Walking is the primary form of physical activity performed by people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), therefore it is important to ensure the validity of tools employed to measure walking activity. The aim of this study was to assess the criterion validity of the activPAL3 activity monitor during overground walking in people with MS. Validity of the activPAL3 accelerometer was compared to video observation in 20 people moderately affected by MS. Participants walked 20–30 m twice along a straight quiet corridor at a comfortable speed. Inter-rater reliability of video observations was excellent (all intraclass correlations >0.99). The mean difference (activPAL3- mean of raters) was −4.70 ± 9.09, −4.55 s ± 10.76 and 1.11 s ± 1.11 for steps taken, walking duration and upright duration respectively. These differences represented 8.7%, 10.0% and 1.8% of the mean for each measure respectively. The activPAL3 tended to underestimate steps taken and walking duration in those who walked at cadences of ≤38 steps/min by 60% and 47%, respectively. The activPAL3 is valid for measuring walking activity in people moderately affected by MS. It is accurate for upright duration regardless of cadence. In participants with slow walking cadences, outcomes of steps taken and walking duration should be interpreted with caution.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: McConnachie, Professor Alex and Wu, Professor Olivia and Coulter, Dr Elaine and Paul, Dr Lorna
• Authors: Coulter, E.H., Miller, L., McCorkell, S., McGuire, C., Algie, K., Freeman, J., Weller, B., Mattison, P.G., McConnachie, A., Wu, O., and Paul, L.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Health & Wellbeing > Health Economics and Health Technology Assessment; College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Health & Wellbeing > Robertson Centre; College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Medicine, Dentistry & Nursing
• Journal Name: Medical Engineering and Physics
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 1350-4533
• ISSN (Online): 1873-4030
• Published Online: 10 April 2017
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2017 IPEM
• First Published: First published in Medical Engineering and Physics 45:78-82
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy