Validity of the Italian-translated version of two physical activity questionnaires for use during pregnancy: A pilot study

Introduction: There is mounting evidence that regular physical activity is associated with a reduced risk of development and progression of various chronic diseases and premature death from any cause. Regular physical activity is also critical during pregnancy, with notable impacts on maternal and neonatal health. Many pregnant women, however, do not meet the minimum recommended amounts of daily physical activity. Valid and reliable measures of physical activity during pregnancy, therefore, are necessary to describe the relationship between physical (in)activity and health-related outcomes. Physical activity patterns are typically measured using subjective methods. Subjective methodologies include diaries, surveys, and recall questionnaires and are simple, low-cost, and easy to use. Two recall questionnaires, the Kaiser Physical Activity Survey (KPAS) and the Pregnancy Physical Activity Questionnaire (PPAQ), were adapted to determine physical activity patterns in pregnant women. Unfortunately, to date, both KPAS and PPAQ were not translated into the Italian language. Purpose: The aim of this exploratory study was to culturally adapt and evaluate the validity of the Italian version of both KPAS and PPAQ in estimating physical activity habits in pregnant women. Methods: A group of nine pregnant women was recruited by convenience and completed in a randomized order, KPAS and PPAQ. Then, all participants wore a triaxial accelerometer (Actigraph GTX3+) on their non-dominant wrist for three consecutive days. Estimates of physical activity from accelerometry (counts per minute) were correlated with estimates of physical activity from both questionnaires. Results: Both unweighted and weighted KPAS scores were not significantly correlated with PPAQ scores. Interestingly, unweighted KPAS scores were significantly and moderately correlated (rho = 0.717; P < 0.05) with accelerometry in counts per minute. Lastly, there is no significant correlation between PPAQ scores and accelerometry ( rho = 0.333; P = 0.38). Conclusions: The present exploratory study indicated that the Italian version of the KPAS, but not that of the PPAQ, is reasonably accurate for the measure of physical activity patterns among pregnant women.