title: Physical activity in adults with congenital heart disease and associations with functional outcomes.
abstract: Improved survival has yielded to growing importance of functional outcome measures in patients with congenital heart disease (CHD). This study applied the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) to assess self-reported physical activity (PA) in patients with CHD and their association with exercise capacity and health-related quality of life (HrQoL).
  
  
  
  Prior to cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET), 786 consecutive patients (335 female, 31.1±11.6 years) with CHD filled in the short form of the IPAQ and the HrQoL questionnaire 36-Item Short Form.
  
  
  
  In total, 393 (50.0%) patients reported health-enhancing physical activity (HEPA), 237 (30.2%) minimal activity and 156 (19.8%) inactivity. In comparison with the HEPA group, the inactive group had significant lower peak oxygen uptake (74.2%±20.7% vs 86.8%±22.3%; p<0.001) as well as lower physical (91.0%±16.9% vs 97.4%±13.6%; p<0.001) and mental (97.1%±22.2% vs 104.1%±15.6%; p<0.001) HrQoL. Independent of severity class, surgery, age, beta-blocker, pacemaker and oxygen saturation, the HEPA group in comparison with the inactive group showed significantly less probability for impairments in mental (OR: 0.21, 95% CI: 0.10 to 0.45; p<0.001) and physical (OR: 0.46, 95% CI: 0.23 to 0.92; p=0.027) HrQoL and exercise capacity (OR: 0.36, 95% CI: 0.22 to 0.59; p<0.001).
  
  
  
  Categorisation of patientswith CHD with the IPAQ quickly provides clinical information as HEPA patients have a less probability for impaired HrQoL and diminished exercise capacity. Nevertheless, the IPAQ cannot substitute an accelerometer-based assessment for PA, nor a CPET for exercise capacity.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Preventive Pediatrics, Technische Universität München, München, Germany.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.affiliation: Institute of Preventive Pediatrics, Technische Universität München, München, Germany.
authors.forename: Tamara
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Amberger
authors.affiliation: Institute of Preventive Pediatrics, Technische Universität München, München, Germany.
authors.forename: Anika
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Berg
authors.affiliation: Institute of Preventive Pediatrics, Technische Universität München, München, Germany.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Goeder
authors.affiliation: Institute of Preventive Pediatrics, Technische Universität München, München, Germany.
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Remmele
authors.affiliation: Institute of Preventive Pediatrics, Technische Universität München, München, Germany.|Department of Pediatric Cardiology and Congenital Heart Disease, Technische Universität München, München, Germany.
authors.forename: Renate
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Oberhoffer
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Cardiology and Congenital Heart Disease, Technische Universität München, München, Germany.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ewert
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Cardiology and Congenital Heart Disease, Technische Universität München, München, Germany.
authors.forename: Alfred
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hager
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D005080:Exercise Test; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D010101:Oxygen Consumption; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D057566:Self Report; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Physical Activity; functional outcome; peak oxygen uptake; self-assessment