The aim of the study is to assess the reliability and validity of the Polish adaptation of the Physical Activity Questionnaire for the Elderly (PAQE-PL). One hundred and four older adults (75 women and 29 men) aged 65 to 89 (mean 72.2 ± 5.7 years) participated in the study. The test-retest procedure was used to evaluate the reliability of the PAQE-PL. Validity was assessed by comparing the results of the PAQE-PL with the measurements from an accelerometer (ActiGraph wGT3X+) and two questionnaires: the Polish version of the Community Healthy Activities Model Program for Seniors (CHAMPS-PL) and the Polish version of the Yale Physical Activity Survey (YPAS-PL). All test-retest interclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were significant (ranged from 0.64 to 0.92). The long-term stability showed significant ICCs (ranged from 0.38 to 0.87) for all participants. In regard to validity, the obtained correlation coefficients were relatively low but statistically significant for all participants between the PAQE-PL scores and energy expenditure (r ranging from 0.25 to 0.26) measured by the accelerometer. The PAQE-PL correlated with almost all CHAMPS-PL indices, YPAS-PL energy expenditure, and total physical activity time. The results suggest that the adaptation of the PAQE-PL is an acceptable tool to estimate the physical activity level among older adults in the Polish population. We recommend the cautious and well-thought-out use of the PAQE-PL with a population of older women.
Keywords: older adults; physical activity measurement; reliability; validity.