Does the wearing time of motion sensor interfere with the choice of physical activity in daily life outcomes of COPD patients?

ABSTRACT This study analyzes physical activity in the daily lives (PADL) of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), measured in three different periods of daily use of motor sensor: 8 hours, 12 hours, and awake time, in order to identify if the PADL outcomes are different among each other. It is a transversal study with 45 patients (66±8 years) classified as having moderate to severe COPD. The PADL was assessed using the physical activity monitor SenseWear Armband (SAB) for 7 consecutive days, 24 hours a day. The PADL results provided by the monitor in the three evaluation periods within 24 hours of use were compared. The sedentary and physical activity outcomes (number of steps and total energy expenditure) were different in the three periods using the SAB, having higher values in the assessment per awake time. Regarding the physical activity outcomes divided into age groups - 3 or 2 metabolic equivalents (METs) -, the outcomes were similar to the evaluation for 12 hours and per awake time. It was concluded, thus, that the use of physical activity monitor during the awake time is the most indicated outcome for accurate and complete monitoring of sedentarism and physical activity in COPD patients.