Is a single question of the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ) valid for measuring sedentary behaviour in the Chilean population?

A study was conducted to assess the validity of the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ) for measuring sedentary behaviour (SB) in the Chilean adult population. About 217 adults (93/124 male/female, 43.8 ± 15.75 years) who were randomly selected during National Health Survey 2009-2010 completed the protocol. The participants wore an ActiGraph GT3X (AG) for 7 consecutive days and then completed the GPAQ (single-item question for measuring time spent sitting in a usual day). Validity was examined using Spearman's correlation, mean bias and limits of agreement (LoA), with AG (vertical axis <100 counts · min-1) as the reference standard for estimates of SB in bouts of 1 (AG1), 5 (AG5) and 10 (AG10) min. Agreement between the GPAQ and AG for classifying data into quartiles and tertiles was assessed with kappa method. The GPAQ showed fair correlation with AG1, AG5 and AG10 (range = 0.23-0.26), with large mean biases (range = -293.9, -76.12 min · day-1). Agreement between the GPAQ and AG1, AG5 and AG10 was poor for categorising time spent in SB into tertiles and quartiles. The single question from the GPAQ has shown fair validity for measuring SB and poor ability for correctly classifying individuals into tertiles or quartiles of SB in a Chilean population.

The descriptive epidemiology of sitting in Chilean adults: Results from the National Health Survey 2009-2010.

BACKGROUND: Although evidence on the health effects of sedentary behavior (SB) has grown systematically in recent years, few developing countries have reported population levels of SB, especially in South America. Our objective was to describe time spent sitting in a representative sample from Chile categorized by age, gender, educational level, and body mass index (BMI). METHODS: A national health survey was conducted in Chile in a nationally representative sample (n = 5411) in 2009-2010. Sitting time (ST) was measured with the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire Version 2. RESULTS: Data were from 5031 participants (43.26 ± 0.41 years, mean ± SE; 40.3% male). Overall, there were no gender differences in mean ST (men: 158.10 ± 5.80 min/day, women 143.45 ± 4.77 min/day; p = 0.05). ST was lower in those who lived in rural areas compared with urban areas (99.4 min/day vs. 160.0 min/day; p = 0.001). ST increased significantly with increasing BMI, but only in men (p = 0.009), and was positively related to years of education in both men and women (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: The findings were different from those reported in other countries and contexts, reinforcing the need for international surveillance and monitoring over time to inform policy makers. Differences in ST across different groups emphasize the need to develop tailored messages and interventions for reducing ST in different population subgroups.

Medidas de resultados (outcomes) utilizados en la Investigación del tratamiento kinésico de la osteoartritis de rodilla: estudio descriptivo / Most frequent outcomes used in recent investigations concerning treatment of knee osteoarthritis

INTRODUCTION: Knee Osteoarthritis (OA) is a frequent disorder in the adult population, highly disabling. The non-pharmacological treatment of choice is physical therapy. The latest has as main objective to improve the functionality of the patient, which valuation allows distinguishing any change in the symptoms of the subject. Health outcomes are an indicator of the efficacy of health related attention, and are used in every research that requires checking the effectiveness of a therapy. PURPOSE: To establish the most common outcomes used in recent investigations concerning treatment of knee OA. METHODS: A transversal, non experimental and descriptive study was carried out, in which the Clinical-Trials.gov section of Pub Med database was reviewed, between August and October of 2011. 98 articles that fulfilled the inclusion criteria were selected. Data was processed in Excel and analyzed with the statistical program STATA 11.0 RESULTS: The most frequent outcomes to evaluate knee OA were: WOMAC, pain, VAS, exams and muscular strength. The most evaluated dimension were pain (34,6 percent), quality of life and functionality (30,6 percent), and finally physical fitness (25,5 percent). The interventions executed with more frequency were physical training, use of physical agents, orthosis, taping and splints. CONCLUSION: Among the variety of kinesic procedures, the most studied intervention in knee OA is physical exercise. Its effectiveness is evaluated with symptoms, such as pain, and patient functionality. The inclusion of these outcomes in pre and postgraduated education, the professional practice and local clinical research will allow an adequate implementation of the available evidence of this pathology in the upcoming years. .

INTRODUCCIÓN: La OsteoArtritis (OA) de rodilla es un trastorno frecuente en la población adulta, altamente discapacitante. Su tratamiento no farmacológico de elección es la kinesiterapia. Ésta tiene como objetivo principal mejorar la funcionalidad del paciente, cuya valoración permite advertir si hay cambios en la sintomatología del paciente. Las medidas de resultado (outcome, en inglés) son un indicador de la eficacia de la atención en salud y son utilizados en toda investigación que requiera comprobar la efectividad de una terapia. OBJETIVO: Determinar los outcomes más utilizados en las recientes investigaciones sobre el tratamiento de la OA de rodilla. MÉTODOS: Se realizó una investigación de carácter descriptivo, en la que se revisó la sección Clinical-Trials.gov de la base de datos PubMed, entre Agosto y Octubre de 2011. Se seleccionaron 98investigaciones que cumplieran con los criterios de inclusión para el análisis. Los datos fueron procesados en Excel y análizados con el programa estadístico STATA 10.1. RESULTADOS: Los outcomes más utilizados para evaluar la OA fueron: WOMAC, dolor, VAS, exámenes y fuerza muscular. La dimensión más evaluada fue dolor(34,6 por ciento, luego calidad de vida y funcionalidad (30,6 por ciento), y finalmente condición física (25,5 por ciento). Las intervenciones realizadas con mayor frecuencia fueron el entrenamiento físico, el uso de agentes físicos, órtesis, vendajes y férulas. CONCLUSIONES: Dentro de la multiplicidad de procedimientos kinésicos, la intervención más estudiada en la OA de rodilla es el ejercicio físico. Su efectividad se evalúa mediante la sintomatología dolorosa y la funcionalidad del paciente. La inclusión del conocimiento de estos outcomes en la formación de pre y postítulo, en la práctica profesional y en las investigaciones clínicas locales permitirá una adecuada aplicabilidad de la evidencia disponible en los próximos años en esta patología.