Division of Nutritional Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America.
Department of Cell, Development and Integrative Biology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2024 Jun 26;19(6):e0288828. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0288828. eCollection 2024.
Physical function is the physical ability to fulfill one's daily roles and responsibilities. Poor physical function is detrimental to health and income-generating activities. Unfortunately, there is a lack of validated methods to measure physical function in adult women in low- and middle-income countries, including Ethiopia, the locus of this study. This study evaluated the feasibility, reliability, and validity of physical tests, including the sit-to-stand (STS) and usual gait speed (UGS) and a context-appropriate instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) survey. The results of the STS were used to calculate a muscle quality index (MQI, STS accounting for body mass and leg length). Feasibility was ascertained qualitatively based on reports from the enumerators on their ability to administer the tests. Reliability was assessed by comparing the results of the tests and questions between each visit using either Cohen's κ or Pearson's ρ. The validity of MQI was assessed using relevant participant characteristics such as age and self-reported disability. The validity of the IADL was assessed using MQI. Study participants comprised 316 women between the ages of 18 and 45 years, living in rural Tigray, Ethiopia, who had previously participated in an impact evaluation of a safety net program. Over a one-week period, participants completed the STS and UGS tests and responded to the IADL survey questions three times. MQI was determined to be a feasible, reliable, and valid physical function test for women in rural, highland Ethiopia. UGS lacked feasibility and reliability; validity was not ascertained. The IADL questions were feasible and reliable, but validity was inconclusive. In rural Ethiopia, the MQI will be a valuable tool to develop interventions for improving physical function, which will have positive impacts on health and quality of life.
身体机能是指一个人履行日常角色和责任的身体能力。身体机能差会对健康和创造收入的活动造成损害。不幸的是，在包括埃塞俄比亚在内的中低收入国家，缺乏验证过的方法来衡量成年女性的身体机能，而本研究正是在埃塞俄比亚进行的。本研究评估了身体测试的可行性、可靠性和有效性，包括坐站（STS）和通常的步态速度（UGS）以及适合当地环境的工具性日常生活活动（IADL）调查。STS 的结果用于计算肌肉质量指数（MQI，STS 占体重和腿长）。可行性是根据计数员关于他们管理测试的能力的报告进行定性确定的。可靠性通过比较每次访问中测试和问题的结果来评估，使用 Cohen's κ 或 Pearson's ρ。MQI 的有效性使用相关的参与者特征来评估，例如年龄和自我报告的残疾情况。IADL 的有效性使用 MQI 进行评估。研究参与者包括 316 名年龄在 18 至 45 岁之间的农村 Tigray 地区的女性，她们之前参加了一项针对安全网计划影响的评估。在一周的时间内，参与者完成了 STS 和 UGS 测试，并三次回答了 IADL 调查问题。MQI 被确定为农村埃塞俄比亚高地女性可行、可靠和有效的身体机能测试。UGS 缺乏可行性和可靠性；有效性无法确定。IADL 问题具有可行性和可靠性，但有效性不确定。在农村埃塞俄比亚，MQI 将成为改善身体机能的干预措施的宝贵工具，这将对健康和生活质量产生积极影响。
