Physical activity in children and adolescents with CHD: review from a measurement methodological perspective

Aim: To compile a literature overview of physical activity in children with CHD and to critically evaluate the methodology used for physical activity assessment. Methods: A review of the literature was performed using PubMed to identify studies examining accelerometer and subjectively assessed physical activity in children and adolescents with CHD. Result: A total of 15 studies were included (6 studies using subjective measures and 9 articles using accelerometers for the assessment of physical activity). The patients generally failed to meet the recommendations of physical activity. When compared to healthy controls, the results were widely divergent in the subjectively assessed measures and the accelerometer-based studies showed a tendency of no difference in physical activity. Neither subjective methods nor accelerometer-based studies reported any difference in physical activity in general, in relation to the severity of the heart disease. Conclusion: Methodological variation and limitations in the assessment of physical activity largely explain the divergent results and the inability to establish differences in physical activity between children with CHD of different severity and compared to healthy controls. Methodological knowledge and guidelines are provided for improved assessment of physical activity using accelerometers in clinical research.