Compendium of Physical Activities Strongly Underestimates the Oxygen Cost During Activities of Daily Living in Stroke Patients.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the study was to measure the metabolic equivalent task when performing physical activities of daily living in poststroke individuals.

DESIGN

Poststroke individuals who were able to walk without human assistance were recruited and asked to perform the following activities of daily living: washing dishes (activity code: 05041 in Ainsworth's compendium), walking at a slow pace of less than 2 mph (activity code: 17151), climbing stairs (activity code: 17133), and walking down stairs (activity code: 17070). The metabolic equivalent task was measured along these activities using a portable breath gas exchange analyzer. The measured values were then compared with Ainsworth's compendium.

RESULTS

Thirty-five participants were included (mean [SD] age = 64.3 [14.3] yrs). The mean (SD) resting metabolic rate was 3.08 (0.79) ml O2 kg(-1) min(-1). The metabolic equivalent task values were significantly higher than the compendium values: metabolic equivalent task washing dishes = 2.57 (0.96) versus 1.80 for compendium; metabolic equivalent task walking = 4.16 (0.93) versus 2.00 for compendium; metabolic equivalent task climbing stairs = 5.90 (1.43) versus 4.00 for compendium; metabolic equivalent task walking down stairs = 3.29 (0.48) versus 3.50 for compendium.

CONCLUSIONS

The metabolic equivalent tasks during activities were higher than Ainsworth's compendium. Stroke individuals are thus exposed to high oxygen requirements when performing activities of daily living, which could have a strong impact on their ability to perform these activities in real life.