Use of activPAL to Measure Physical Activity in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Systematic Review

OBJECTIVE: To perform a systematic review of the literature to describe how the activPAL accelerometer has been used to measure physical activity (PA) in community-dwelling older adults to standardize collection of PA data in this population using this thigh-worn accelerometer. DATA SOURCES: A comprehensive search of the following databases was completed: Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Complete, Embase, OVID Medicine, PubMed/Web of Science, and Scopus. STUDY SELECTION: Studies were included if published before August 1, 2020, were written in English, and used activPAL to measure PA in community-dwelling, noninstitutionalized adults 65 years or older. Titles and abstracts were independently reviewed, and the decision to include or exclude was made by 100% consensus. DATA EXTRACTION: Three research team members independently extracted the data from included studies. Extracted data were compared and discussed with relevant information included. Study quality was assessed using the Quality Assessment Tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-sectional Studies. DATA SYNTHESIS: A total of 7 articles met the inclusion criteria. Three of the 7 studies used activPAL to report steps/d, ranging from 864-15847 steps/d. Time spent stepping or walking was reported by 4 studies using various units. Sit-to-stand transitions were reported by 4 studies, averaging 10-63 transitions/d. Sedentary time was assessed in 6 studies, whereas moderate to vigorous physical activity was not measured using activPAL in any study. CONCLUSIONS: The activPAL is most often used to collect data on step count and walking, sit-to-stand transitions, and sedentary time in community-dwelling older adults.