Ten commonly used physical activity questionnaires were evaluated for reliability and validity in 78 men and women aged 20-59, with varying physical activity habits. One month reliability was found to be high for all questionnaires except those pertaining only to the last week or month. Longer term test-retest reliability tended to be lower. Validity was studied in relation to treadmill exercise performance, vital capacity, body fatness, the average of 14 4-wk physical activity histories and the average of 14 2-d accelerometer readings. No questionnaire measure was correlated with the accelerometer reading, and correlations with vital capacity were generally low. Only the Minnesota Leisure Time Physical Activity Questionnaire household chores measure was correlated with habitual performance of household chores. Most questionnaires, even very simple ones, were related to performance of heavy intensity physical activity and treadmill Study Design. Statistical analysis of various measurement techniques for thoracolumbar burst fracture kyphosis on lateral radiograph.
Objective. To determine the most reliable measurement technique.
Summary of Background Data. The treatment of thoracic and lumbar burst fractures involves many factors, including the degree of resultant kyphosis. Although various methods have been described, no study has directly compared these methods for reliability and reproducibility.
Methods. Fifty lateral radiographs of thoracic and lumbar burst fractures were randomly selected and measured on two separate occasions by three spine surgeons using five different measurement techniques. Radiograph quality, fracture type, and the center beam location were determined. Statistical analysis included analysis of variance for repeated measures and analysis of variance using a generalized linear model.
Results. Intraclass correlation coefficients were most consistent for Method 1 (rho = 0.83–0.94) followed by Method 4 (rho = 0.65–0.89) and Method 5 (rho = 0.73–0.85). Intraobserver agreement (% of repeated measures within 5° of the original measurement) ranged between 72% and 98% for all techniques for all three observers, with Method 1 showing the best agreement (84%–98%). Paired comparisons between observers varied considerably with interobserver reliability correlation coefficients ranging from 0.52 to 0.93. Method 1 showed the highest interobserver reliability coefficient (0.81, range 0.71–0.93) followed by Method 5 (0.71, range 0.68–0.75). Method 1 also had the highest percentage of agreement within categories (90% within 5°).
Conclusions. Method 1 (measuring from the superior endplate of the vertebral body one level above the injured vertebral body to the inferior endplate of the vertebral body one level below) showed the best intraobserver and interobserver reliability overall.