Key result
Accelerometer-based physical activity tracking in CHD yields fair study quality and difficult methodological comparability.
Why the study?
Regular physical activity is increasingly encouraged in congenital heart disease, but an overview of the quality, methodology, and outcomes of studies using accelerometers to objectively assess physical activity was needed.
What is the quality, methodology, and outcome of accelerometer-based physical activity assessment in patients with congenital heart disease?
Systematic Review (n=1,415)
What is the quality, methodology, and outcome of accelerometer-based physical activity assessment in patients with congenital heart disease?
Current studies on accelerometer-based physical activity assessment in CHD patients have fair to poor quality and substantial methodological heterogeneity, precluding clear conclusions on actual physical activity levels.
Insufficient evidence to guide activity counseling in congenital heart disease; leaves open need for standardized, higher-quality accelerometer studies.
BACKGROUND: The shift toward a preventative approach in medical aftercare of congenital heart disease (CHD) patients has led to encouragement of regular physical activity (PA) in this patient population. Objective measures are crucial in accurately displaying PA levels and have increasingly found their way into clinical research. This review aims to give an overview about quality, methodology, and outcomes of current scientific work on accelerometers objectively assessing PA in patients with CHD. METHODS: Systematically researched literature in all relevant databases (PubMed, Cochrane, and Scopus) over the past decade (2009-2019) with history of CHD and accelerometer-based PA assessment was evaluated by 2 independent reviewers according to the Study Quality Assessment Tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. RESULTS: Eight articles with 664 pediatric patients with CHD aged 3-18 years (range 10-162 patients), 5 studies with 574 adults with CHD aged 18-63 years (range 28-330 patients), and 3 studies with 177 pediatric patients and adults with CHD aged 8-52 years were included. Two studies were rated "good"; 9, "fair"; and 5, "poor." Methodologies and devices differed substantially across all studies. CONCLUSIONS: Overall study quality was fair at best, and due to difficult methodological comparability of the studies, no clear answer on how active patients with CHD really are can currently be given. Larger studies carefully considering collection and processing criteria, and correct reporting standards exploring PA in patients with CHD from different angles are needed.
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Brudy et al. (2021) conducted a systematic review in Congenital heart disease (n=1,415). Accelerometer-based physical activity assessment was evaluated on Study quality, methodology, and outcomes. Accelerometer-based physical activity assessment in 1,415 congenital heart disease patients across 16 studies showed fair overall study quality and difficult methodological comparability.
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