Rapid assessment of maternal activity among rural Indian mothers (Pune Maternal Nutrition Study).
OBJECTIVE
To develop an activity questionnaire for objective and rapid assessment of maternal habitual physical activity with the aim of describing its relationship with birth size.


METHODS
Prospective observational study.


METHODS
Six villages near Pune, Maharashtra, India.


METHODS
Seven hundred and ninety-seven rural Indian mothers were studied after excluding abortions and termination of pregnancies, foetal anomalies, etc.


METHODS
Principal components analysis (PCA) was used to identify a few leading questions from an elaborate questionnaire involving 36 questions related to 14 typical maternal activities.


RESULTS
On the basis of high loading (>0.8), PCA identified three activities, i.e. farming, fetching water and washing clothes. Questions and sub-questions related to these activities only were considered for defining an activity score for rapid assessment. Validation of this new activity score, with the score based on the elaborate questionnaire, showed 70% sensitivity as well as specificity. New activity scores showed strong inverse relationships similar to those observed using the elaborate questionnaire, at early as well as late gestation, with neonatal head circumference (P=0.001 and 0.055) and mid-arm circumference (P=0.02 and 0.03).


CONCLUSIONS
Simple questionnaires, based on leading activities identified by PCA, can be as informative as longer and detailed questionnaires. This method has potential for adaptation, especially in rural communities in developing countries.
Kanade
A N
AN
Biometry & Nutrition Group, Agharkar Research Institute, GG Agarkar Road, Pune 411 004, India.
Rao
S
S
Yajnik
C S
CS
Margetts
B M
BM
Fall
C H D
CH
D000328:Adult; D001724:Birth Weight; D002508:Cephalometry; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D039382:Maternal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012424:Rural Population; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*