Short Communication Validation of a multi-sensor armband during free-living activity in adults with cystic fibrosis☆

Background: The SenseWear Armband (SWA) provides simple and non-invasive measures of energy expenditure (EE) during physical activity, however its accuracy in adults with cystic fibrosis (CF) during free living physical activities has not been established. Methods: 26 CF adults (mean FEV1 63% predicted; 11 males) completed a series of standardised static and active tasks with simultaneous analysis of EE via the SWA and indirect calorimetry (IC). Results: Mean difference and limits of agreement between EE values from the SWA and IC across all activities were −0.02 METs (95% CI −1.1 to 1.1). There was moderate agreement between the two measures (ICC 0.4; 95% CI: 0 to 0.7; p = 0.03). For individual activity tasks ICC ranged from 0.1 to 0.6. Conclusion: Overall, the SWA demonstrated good agreement with IC for EE estimates in CF adults during a series of free-living activities, however accuracy was variable when assessing EE for specific activities of shorter duration. © 2013 European Cystic Fibrosis Society. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.