Abstract
Study design
Cross-sectional construct validation study.
Objectives
To test the construct validity of the Leisure Time Physical Activity Questionnaire for People with Spinal Cord Injury (LTPAQ-SCI) by examining associations between the scale responses and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) in a sample of adults living with spinal cord injury (SCI).
Setting
Three university-based laboratories in Canada.
Methods
Participants were 39 adults (74% male; M age: 42 ± 11 years) with SCI who completed the LTPAQ-SCI and a graded exercise test to volitional exhaustion using an arm-crank ergometer. One-tailed Pearson’s correlation coefficients were computed to examine the association between the LTPAQ-SCI measures of mild-, moderate-, heavy-intensity and total minutes per week of LTPA and CRF (peak volume of oxygen consumption [V̇O2peak] and peak power output [POpeak]).
Results
Minutes per week of mild-, moderate- and heavy-intensity LTPA and total LTPA were all positively correlated with V̇O2peak. The correlation between minutes per week of mild intensity LTPA and V̇O2peak was small-medium (r = 0.231, p = 0.079) while all other correlations were medium-large (rs ranged from 0.276 to 0.443, ps < 0.05). Correlations between the LTPAQ-SCI variables and POpeak were also positive but small (rs ranged from 0.087 to 0.193, ps > 0.05), except for a medium-sized correlation between heavy-intensity LTPA and POpeak (r = 0.294, p = 0.035).
Conclusions
People with SCI who report higher levels of LTPA on the LTPAQ-SCI also demonstrate greater levels of CRF, with stronger associations between moderate- and heavy-intensity LTPA and CRF than between mild-intensity LTPA and CRF. These results provide further support for the construct validity of the LTPAQ-SCI as a measure of LTPA among people with SCI.
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Data availability
The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Adrienne Sinden for her assistance with manuscript preparation.
Funding
This study was funded by a project grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) with the funding reference number (TCA 118348). The first author holds the Reichwald Family Southern Medical Program Chair in Chronic Disease Prevention.
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KAMG was responsible for conceptualizing and designing the study, interpreting results and writing the report. JU-C was responsible for analyzing the data, writing the results, creating tables and providing feedback on the report. AAA was responsible for collecting and cleaning the data, drafting the methods section and providing feedback on the report. TEN was responsible for assisting during data collection, drafting the methods section, assisting with data interpretation, and providing feedback on the report. JSA was responsible for assisting in the design of the study protocol, drafting the methods section, assisting with data interpretation, and providing feedback on the report. KDC was responsible for assisting during data collection and providing feedback on the report. MH was responsible for assisting during data collection and providing feedback on the report. AK is the Principal Investigator for the CHOICES study and was responsible for designing and overseeing implementation of all aspects of the CHOICES protocol and providing feedback on the report.
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Ethics approval was obtained from the University of British Columbia (H12-02945-11), McMaster University (12–672) and Toronto Rehabilitation Institute – University Health Network (12–5797).
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Martin Ginis, K.A., Úbeda-Colomer, J., Alrashidi, A.A. et al. Construct validation of the leisure time physical activity questionnaire for people with SCI (LTPAQ-SCI). Spinal Cord 59, 311–318 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41393-020-00562-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41393-020-00562-9
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