activPAL as a valid method of recording physical activity and sedentary behaviour in people with mild to moderate Parkinson's Disease.

Abstract

Objective: Establish whether the activPAL activity monitor accurately measures physical activity and sedentary behaviour in people with mild to moderate Parkinson's Disease. Design: Cross-sectional, observational, validation study. Participants: 12 participants with mild to moderate Parkinson's Disease. Method: Each participant wore an activPAL activity monitor. They individually performed a range of controlled, functional and walking activities. This was captured and coded on video to define a gold standard. The time spent sedentary and active was calculated and the results from activPAL and video observation (VO) were compared. Results: Data from 10 participants was included in the analysis. Correlation coefficients for sedentary time ranged from r = 0.988 to 1 p < 0.001 and for active time for controlled activities was r = 0.526 p > 0.001 and ranged from r = 0.976 to 1 p < 0.001 for functional and walking activities. The mean difference between activPAL and VO for time spent sedentary was -34.30s (controlled activities) and -16.20s (random activities) and for time spent active was 10.40s (controlled activities), 2.50s (random activities), 0.30s (walking activities). Conclusion: ActivPAL is a valid tool to measure physical activity and sedentary behaviour in people with mild to moderate Parkinson's Disease. It is more accurate in measuring physical activity than sedentary behaviour.