The lipid research clinics physical activity questionnaire does not accurately measure physical activity in people with HIV.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to evaluate the agreement between self-reported physical activity (PA) levels, as measured by the Lipid Research Clinics Physical Activity Questionnaire (LRCQ), and objective measures obtained through actigraphy in people with HIV.

METHODS

Cross-sectional data were analyzed from the 130 people with HIV who completed the LRCQ and wore an actigraphy device for 7-10 days. The agreement between the LRCQ and actigraphy was assessed using various interrater agreement metrics, including Cohen's kappa and percentage agreement.

RESULTS

The predominantly male (67.7%) cohort had a mean age of 55.7 ± 10.6 years. The LRCQ categorized 51.5% of participants as low activity; however, 33% of those self-reporting low activity achieved over 150 min of moderate to vigorous PA weekly measured by actigraphy. Agreement metrics indicated a "fair" level of concordance: Percentage agreement was 67%, and Cohen's kappa was 0.29 ( P  < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

The LRCQ does not accurately capture PA levels in people with HIV compared to actigraphy. This discrepancy suggests potential under- or over-reporting, emphasizing caution in using self-reported data for clinical assessments. Future research should focus on refining PA questionnaires and integrating objective measures to enhance the accuracy of PA evaluations in this population.