Validation of the HSE Physical Activity and
Sedentary Behaviour Assessment
Questionnaire (PASBAQ)
Shaun Scholes, Ngaire Coombs, Zeljko Pedisic,
Jenny Mindell, Adrian Bauman, Alex V. Rowlands,
Emmanuel Stamatakis
Launch of HSE 2012 report, May 15 2014
Validity studies
• Compare questionnaires against a
benchmark/gold standard:
– Criterion validity: self-report vs. objective methods
such as heart rate monitors, accelerometers(ActiGraph)
– Concurrent validity: compare 2 versions of the same
questionnaire (e.g., long vs. short)
• Data collected from same participants
• Relationship between 2 sets of data frequently
reported as:
– differences in summary statistics (e.g., mean, median,
% above a threshold) (absolute)
– correlation coefficients (e.g., Spearman’s rank-order)
(relative agreement)
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Health Survey for England 2008
(n=2,175 persons aged ≥16 years)
PASBAQ (4 weeks prior to
interview
Domains of PA:
–
–
–
–
–
Domestic
Manual work (e.g., DIY)
Walking
Sports/exercise
Occupational
• Frequency (# days)
• Duration (# minutes)
• Intensity (‘out-of-breath’)
Domains of SB (TV, nonTV)
ActiGraph (7 days after
interview)
• Acceleration (objective
measure of body
movement)
• Frequency, duration,
intensity…but cannot
capture domain
• Participants included if
wore ActiGraph for ≥10
hours/day from at least 3
days out of 7
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ActiGraph monitor
Device counts up-and-down movement as walk, run, or engage in other
PA. As well as measuring overall levels of PA, it also allows researchers
to measure activity intensity – by giving a figure for the number of
movements it records over the course of a minute
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‘Like-for-like’ variables to compare instruments
PASBAQ
Average minutes per/day
spent in:
• Total PA (Σ5 domains)
• MVPA:
– Included/excluded domestic
• All PA in sustained (≥10minute bouts)
• Sedentary behaviour:
– Total:
• TV viewing
• NonTV viewing
ActiGraph
Average minutes per/day
spent above user-defined
counts per minute (cpm)
threshold:
• Sedentary <100 cpm
• Total PA: ≥200 cpm
• MVPA: ≥2,020 cpm
– Included/excluded sporadic
(0-9 min bouts)
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7
8
9
10
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Spearman rank-order correlations, by sex
ActiGraph measure, by PASBAQ
Men
(n=992)
Women
(n=1183)
0.20*
0.30
0.38
0.37
0.42
0.40
0.39
0.38
0.36
0.35
0.25
0.13
0.17
0.19
0.30
0.14
0.20
0.20
Total PA (minutes ≥200 cpm):
Total PA (minutes/day)
MVPA (minutes ≥2,020 cpm):
MVPA (minutes/day) incl. domestic
MVPA (minutes/day) excl. domestic
MVPA (minutes ≥2,020 cpm)10-min bouts:
MVPA (minutes/day) incl. domestic
MVPA (minutes/day) excl. domestic
Sedentary behaviour (minutes <100 cpm):
Total
TV viewing
NonTV sitting
Occupational sitting/standing
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Spearman rank-order correlations, by age
ActiGraph measure, by PASBAQ
16-44
45-64
65+
0.13
0.21
0.40*16-44, *45-64
0.26
0.29
0.34
0.27
0.47*16-44, *45-64
0.39*16-44,* 45-64
0.30
0.33
0.37
0.31
0.34
0.33
0.34
-0.04
0.15
0.24
0.31
0.08*16-44
0.15
0.19
0.32
0.25*16-44, *45-64
0.14
0.27
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Total activity (minutes ≥200 cpm):
Total activity (minutes/day)
MVPA (minutes ≥2,020 cpm):
MVPA (minutes/day) incl. domestic
MVPA (minutes/day) excl. domestic
MVPA (minutes ≥2,020 cpm)10-min bouts:
MVPA (minutes/day) incl. domestic
MVPA (minutes/day) excl. domestic
Sedentary behaviour (minutes <100 cpm):
Total
TV viewing
Non-TV sitting
Occupational sitting/standing
Conclusions
• Neither assessment of PA is a gold standard (e.g.,
cycling is poorly measured by ActiGraph)
• Absolute differences between instruments closer
when objectively-assessed MVPA was analysed
in sustained (10-min) bouts
• Positive, but moderate correlations – but in line
with other PA questionnaires
• Some evidence of stronger relative agreement in
older age-groups
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