Impact of accelerometer data processing decisions on the sample size, wear time and physical activity level of a large cohort study

• Published in: BMC public health Vol. 14; no. 1; p. 1210
• Main Authors: Keadle, Sarah Kozey, Shiroma, Eric J, Freedson, Patty S, Lee, I-Min
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 24.11.2014; BioMed Central
• Subjects: Accelerometers; Accelerometry - instrumentation; Accelerometry - methods; Adult; Aged; Algorithms; Analysis; Automatic Data Processing - instrumentation; Automatic Data Processing - methods; Body Mass Index; Cohort Studies; Data processing; Epidemiologic Measurements; Epidemiology; Exercise - physiology; Female; Humans; Medical research; Middle Aged; Monitoring, Ambulatory - instrumentation; Physical Examination; Sample Size; Studies; Time Factors; Womens health
• ISSN: 1471-2458; 1471-2458
• DOI: 10.1186/1471-2458-14-1210

Accelerometers objectively assess physical activity (PA) and are currently used in several large-scale epidemiological studies, but there is no consensus for processing the data. This study compared the impact of wear-time assessment methods and using either vertical (V)-axis or vector magnitude (VM) cut-points on accelerometer output. Participants (7,650 women, mean age 71.4 y) were mailed an accelerometer (ActiGraph GT3X+), instructed to wear it for 7 days, record dates and times the monitor was worn on a log, and return the monitor and log via mail. Data were processed using three wear-time methods (logs, Troiano or Choi algorithms) and V-axis or VM cut-points. Using algorithms alone resulted in "mail-days" incorrectly identified as "wear-days" (27-79% of subjects had >7-days of valid data). Using only dates from the log and the Choi algorithm yielded: 1) larger samples with valid data than using log dates and times, 2) similar wear-times as using log dates and times, 3) more wear-time (V, 48.1 min more; VM, 29.5 min more) than only log dates and Troiano algorithm. Wear-time algorithm impacted sedentary time (~30-60 min lower for Troiano vs. Choi) but not moderate-to-vigorous (MV) PA time. Using V-axis cut-points yielded ~60 min more sedentary time and ~10 min less MVPA time than using VM cut-points. Combining log-dates and the Choi algorithm was optimal, minimizing missing data and researcher burden. Estimates of time in physical activity and sedentary behavior are not directly comparable between V-axis and VM cut-points. These findings will inform consensus development for accelerometer data processing in ongoing epidemiologic studies.