Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
3450700 Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 2010 8 Pages PDF
Abstract

Capio CM, Sit CH, Abernethy B. Physical activity measurement using MTI (Actigraph) among children with cerebral palsy.ObjectiveTo investigate the validity of MTI accelerometer as a physical activity (PA) measurement instrument for children with cerebral palsy (CP).DesignParticipants were classified within Gross Motor Function Classification System I to III and took part in 2 activity sessions: (1) a structured activity protocol with increasing intensities and (2) a free play session. Concurrent measurements of activity counts, heart rate, and observed physical activity were performed.SettingData were collected on normal school days in special schools within the participants' 30-minute break period.ParticipantsConvenience sample of children with CP (N=31; 17 girls, 14 boys) age between 6 and 14 years (mean ± SD, 9.71±2.52y).InterventionsNot applicable.Main Outcome MeasuresMTI measured activity counts, a monitoring device measured heart rate, and the System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time (SOFIT) was used for direct PA observation.ResultsThere were strong relationships between MTI and SOFIT (r=.75; R2=.56; P<.001) and heart rate monitor (HRM) and SOFIT (r=.65; R2=.43; P<.001) data in structured activities, but the difference between these 2 correlation coefficients was not significant (P=.46). In free play activities, the association between MTI and SOFIT data (r=.67; R2=.45; P<.001) was significantly stronger (P=.01) than that between heart rate and SOFIT data (r=.14; R2=.02; P<.001) . Bland-Altman plots showed better agreement between observed SOFIT and MTI-predicted SOFIT data than observed SOFIT and HRM-predicted SOFIT data from the linear regression analysis.ConclusionsThe findings suggest that the MTI appears to be a valid instrument for measuring raw activity volume among children with CP and is suitable for use in studies attempting to characterize the PA of this population.

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