The feasibility of using pedometers for self-report of steps and accelerometers for measuring physical activity in adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities across an 18-month intervention.
L T Ptomey, E A Willis, J Lee and 4 others
PMID 28707359WHAT IT FOUND
Adults with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities recorded steps on 81.5% of days, but only 40.9% of those step counts were within believable ranges.
Only 26.8% met the usual 4-day/10-hour accelerometer rule. These tools gave limited usable physical activity data.
Key findings
01Weekly pedometer cards were turned in for about 58% of study weeks, and participants wrote a step value on 81.5% of days.
02Of days with a recorded step value, only 40.9% were plausible; 56% were implausibly low and 3.2% implausibly high.
03At baseline, no participant wore the accelerometer for more than 4 days, and only 26.8% met the 4-day/10-hour wear criterion.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The sample was limited to overweight or obese adults with mild to moderate intellectual and developmental disabilities who lived in supported settings and had caregivers, so it may not apply to adults with IDD at a healthy weight, living independently, or with more severe disability. Attrition was substantial: 149 adults enrolled, 147 completed at least one month, and 101 completed 18 months. The Omron HJ-320 pedometer used here had been validated in typically developing adults, not specifically in adults with IDD. The study assessed wearing and recording behaviour, but did not validate the recorded step values or the plausible step range. The study did not collect information on how many or what kind of reminders participants needed to wear the pedometer or turn in cards. Shorter accelerometer wear criteria produced more data, but the validity of those shorter criteria was not established.
Declared interests
The supplied text does not include a conflict-of-interest or funding declaration; the article metadata lists NIH extramural research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that adults with IDD cannot use activity devices. They often recorded pedometer steps, but many recorded values were implausible, so the finding is about data quality, not about inability to wear a device.