Validity of a combined fibromyalgia (FM) questionnaires to asses physical activity levels in Spanish elderly women: An experimental approach Jose ´ Marı ´a Cancela a , Silvia Varela a , Marı ´a Jose ´A ´ lvarez b , Antonio Molina b , Carlos Aya ´n a, *, Vicente Martı ´n b a Vigo University, GHI22 Research Group, Facultad de Ciencias de la Educacio ´n y el Deporte, Campus da Xunqueira s/n, 36005 Pontevedra, Spain b Leo ´n University, Community Health Research Group. Institute of Biomedicine (IBIOMED). Campus de Vegazana, 24071, Leo ´n, Spain 1. Introduction Regular physical activity (PA) has been shown to have many health benefits in the elderly (Crombie et al., 2004). Therefore, one of the main recommendations for promoting health among senior citizens is the prescription of a suitable PA (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2000; Lawton et al., 2008). In this regard, it has been observed that physicians and other qualified health care professionals should provide their patients with an exercise prescription that takes into consideration the individual’s previous level of activity (Gostic, 2005). Many tools enable us to do this, one of the most widely used being questionnaires (Hertogh et al., 2008). Those designed to assess the level of physical activity among senior citizens usually have problems of reproducibility, mainly because many of them were originally drawn up for younger populations (Harada et al., 2001) and also because they are excessively long and difficult to administer. Questionnaires are therefore needed that are much more specific and quick to administer, especially in the field of primary care (Topolski et al., 2006). In this regard, the LTPAI and the PAHWI (Mannerkorpi and Hernelid, 2005), despite being designed for people with FM, may prove useful, for two reasons. Firstly, the symptoms of this condition, such as widespread muscle pain, fatigue, sleep and cognitive difficulties, and depressed mood (Sim and Madden, 2008) are similar in many cases to the consequences of the aging processes. Secondly, these questionnaires are organized by different levels of intensity of activity and are brief. In the light of this and as there is only one existing specific questionnaire validated in Spanish for assessing senior citizens’ physical activity, in this study we propose validating a Spanish combined version of LTPAI and PAWHI and demonstrating its usefulness as a user-friendly tool for assessing physical activity levels among the elderly. 2. Subjects and methods 2.1. Subjects Forty-four women aged 60–80 and able to walk normally volunteered for this study. They were all recruited in a senior citizens’ social centre with which the University of Vigo has a collaboration agreement, and at the University of Experience Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics 52 (2011) e56–e59 ARTICLE INFO Article history: Received 7 July 2009 Received in revised form 1 February 2010 Accepted 6 February 2010 Available online 3 June 2010 Keywords: Physical activity of elderly Leisure time physical activity instrument Physical activity at home and work instrument ABSTRACT Questionnaires designed to assess the level of physical activity among elderly Spanish speaking women usually have problems of reproducibility and are difficult to administer. This study aims to validate a Spanish combined version of two questionnaires originally designed to assess physical activity levels in fibromyalgia women. The leisure time physical activity instrument (LTPAI) and the physical activity at home and work instrument (PAHWI). Both questionnaires were translated to Spanish using translation/ back translation methodology, and then were administered to 44 women aged 60–80 twice, with an interval of 2 weeks. During the first administration, participants answered the Yale physical activity questionnaires (YPAS) and performed the 6-min walking test (6MWT). Although the Spanish version of the LTPAI and the PAWHI showed poor test–retest reliability and poor construct validity, the sum of the two questionnaires showed much better associations. The results suggest that the Spanish combined version of LTPAI and PAHWI would seem to be useful tools for assessing the level of physical activity among elderly Spanish speaking women. Nevertheless, such considerations as the cultural adaptation of their content or the link between the intensity of physical activity as perceived and that actually done must be adjusted for greater efficiency. ß 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. * Corresponding author. Tel.: +34 986 801 700; fax: +34 986 801 701. E-mail address: cayan@edu.xunta.es (C. Aya ´ n). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/archger 0167-4943/$ – see front matter ß 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.archger.2010.05.014