Non-Consent to a Wrist-Worn Accelerometer in Older Adults: The Role of Socio-Demographic, Behavioural and Health Factors

Background: Accelerometers, initially waist-worn but increasingly wrist-worn, are used to assess physical activity free from reporting-bias. However, its acceptability by study participants is unclear. Our objective is to assess factors associated with non-consent to a wrist-mounted accelerometer in older adults. Methods: Data are from 4880 Whitehall II study participants (1328 women, age range = 60-83), requested to wear a wrist-worn accelerometer 24 h every day for 9 days in 2012/13. Sociodemographic, behavioral, and health-related factors were assessed by questionnaire and weight, height, blood pressure, cognitive and motor function were measured during a clinical examination. Results: 210 participants had contraindications and 388 (8.3%) of the remaining 4670 participants did not consent. Women, participants reporting less physical activity and less favorable general health were more likely not to consent. Among the clinical measures, cognitive impairment (Odds Ratio = 2.21, 95% confidence interval: 1.22-4.00) and slow walking speed (Odds Ratio = 1.38, 95% confidence interval: 1.02-1.86) were associated with higher odds of non-consent. Conclusions: The rate of non-consent in our study of older adults was low. However, key markers of poor health at older ages were associated with non-consent, suggesting some selection bias in the accelerometer data.