Reproducibility of the Veterans Physical Activity Questionnaire in an elderly population.

BACKGROUND

Quantifying lifetime physical activity using self-reported measures is challenging due to reliance on recall, especially in older populations. The purpose of this study was to determine the 1-year reproducibility of the Veterans Physical Activity Questionnaire (VAPAQ) in a cohort of patients with documented abdominal aortic aneurysm disease (AAA).

METHODS

Subjects included men (n = 52) and women (n = 3) enrolled in AAA STOP, a randomized trial designed to test the ability of supervised exercise training to modify AAA biology and early disease progression.

RESULTS

The overall correlation coefficient for lifetime recreational energy expenditure between the 2 examinations was 0.93 (P < .001), with an overall difference of 26 kcal/week, a typical error (standard deviation of the differences) of 171 kcals/week, and a coefficient of variation (CV) of 15.5%.

CONCLUSIONS

The VAPAQ is a reproducible tool to quantify lifetime energy expenditure in older adults with documented vascular disease.