New questionnaire accurately measures light exercise among dialysis patients

The new Low Physical Activity Questionnaire (LoPAQ) agrees sufficiently with objective pedometer step counts and is an easier method of assessing physical activity in dialysis patients than other, previously validated questionnaires, a recent study has found.

Researchers enrolled 60 patients (mean age, 58.0±12.7 years; 78.3 percent male) on dialysis for at least 3 months and were given a commercially available pedometer for the objective measurement of physical activity. At the same time, the LoPAQ was administered to them at one dialysis session or clinic visit.

The pedometer-derived average weekly step count was 18,578.5 steps, corresponding to a mean of 2,630.5 steps per day. This meant that most patients could be classified as sedentary (<5,000 steps per day) based on their step count.

On the other hand, most patients (82.8 percent) reported using the LoPAQ that they engaged in some form of walking. Participants consumed a medial of 595 kcal per week, equivalent to 24.3 minutes of movement per day. Taking into consideration other forms of exercise, participants spent a total of 33.6 minutes per day of moderate activity. In contrast, a median of 5 hours per day was spent on sedentary activities.

Researchers found that the obtained energy expenditure value from the LoPAQ was significantly correlated with pedometer step counts (p<0.001). The same was true for the total activity reported on the LoPAQ (p=0.01).

Moreover, the duration of sedentary time determined by the LoPAQ was found to be associated lower muscle mass and higher total body fat. The relationship between LoPAQ findings and objective measurements did not differ according to dialysis modality.