Initial validation of the scale of perceived exertion (EPInfant) in Chilean children.
BACKGROUND
Perceived exertion scales quantify the sensation caused by metabolic changes during exercise. Children need tailored tools due to their cognitive immaturity such as the EPInfant scale recently developed in Chile.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the validity and reliability of the EPInfant scale in children during a graded exercise test.


METHODS
We conducted a cross-sectional study for which we selected healthy children younger than 18 years and grouped them according to Piaget's stages of cognitive maturity: Concrete operations (8-12 years) and formal intelligence (13-15 years). The Chester step test was used and heart rate, workload and perceived exertion were recorded during the test. Pearson r and intraclass correlation coefficients were used to assess validity and reliability, respectively.


RESULTS
75 children were admitted, 35 (18 male) from the concrete operations group and 40 (20 male) from the formal intelligence group. In the four groups, heart rate and perceived exertion increased significantly with exercise intensity (p<0.0001). Perceived exertion was correlated with heart rate in both the concrete operation and the formal intelligence groups and in males and females (r=0.73, r=0.58,r=0.43, r=0.62, respectively; p<0.0001). Regression models were significant in all groups (p<0.0001). In the concrete operations group the intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.88 (0.82-0.92) in men and 0.94 (0.91-0.96) in women.


CONCLUSIONS
EPInfant scale was a reliable and valid instrument to measure perceived exertion during exercise in children with different levels of cognitive maturity, and it was reliable in the concrete operations group of children.
Centro de Medicina Molecular, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad San Sebastián, Concepción, Chile Escuela de Kinesiología, Facultad de Salud, Universidad Santo Tomás, Concepción, Chile Programa de Doctorado en Ciencias Médicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de la Frontera, Temuco, Chile Departamento de Cirugía, Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco, Chile. klgo.ivanronu@gmail.com.
Iván
I
Rodríguez-Núñez
Carlos
C
Manterola
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002677:Chile; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005080:Exercise Test; D017079:Exercise Tolerance; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence; D008297:Male; D005082:Physical Exertion; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D057566:Self Report
Reproducibility of results; adolescent.; child; cognition; exercise tolerance; physical exertion; validation studies as topic; validity of tests