Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly

(PASE)
In: Pereira MA, FitzGerald SJ, Gregg EW, Joswiak ML, Ryan WJ, Suminski RR, Utter AC,
Zmuda JM. A collection of Physical Activity Questionnaires for health-related research. Med Sci
Sports Exerc 1997 Jun;29(6 Suppl):S1-205.

LEISURE TIME ACTIVITY

2. Over the past 7 days, how often did you take a walk outside your home or yard for any reason?
For example, for fun or exercise, walking to work, walking the dog, etc?

1. never
2. seldom (1-2 days)
3. sometimes (3-4 days)
4. often (5-7 days)

If 1,2 or 3:

2a. On average, how many hours per day did you spend walking?

1. less than 1 hour

2. 1 but less than 2 hours
3. 2-4 hours
4. more than 4 hours

5. Over the past 7 days, how often did you engage in strenuous sport and recreational activities
such as jobbing swimming, cycling, singles tennis, aerobic dance, skiing(downhill or cross
country) or other similar activities?

1. never
2. seldom (1-2 days)
3. sometimes (3-4 days)
4. often (5-7 days)

If 1,2 or 3:

5a. What were these activities? ___________________________

5b. On average, how many hours per day did you engage in these strenuous sport and
recreational activities?

1. less than 1 hour

2. 1 but less than 2 hours
 3. 2-4 hours
4. more than 4 hours

HOUSEHOLD ACTIVITY
No walking or bicycling related questions in this section.

WORK RELATED ACTIVITY

10. During the past 7 days, did you work for pay or as a volunteer?

1. NO
2. YES

IF YES:

10a. How many hours per week did you work for pay and or as a volunteer?
___ hours

10b. Which of the following categories best describes the amount of physical activity required on
your job and or volunteer work?

1. Sitting or standing with some walking, Ex: cashier, general office worker, light tool and
machinery worker
2. Walking with some handling of materials generally weighing less than 50 pounds. Ex:
mailman, waiter/waitress, construction worker, heavy tool and machinery worker
3. Walking and heavy manual work often requiring handling of materials weighting over 50
pounds. Ex: lumberjack, stone mason, farm or general laborer.

Introduction
A physical activity questionnaire is a practical and widely used approach for physical activity
assessment in epidemiologic investigations[1].

Activity questionnaires have been used in studies relating physical activity to fall and fracture
risk, balance and gait characteristics, bone density, and coronary heart disease in older
people[2][3][4][5].
PASE was initially developed in early 90s to provide an instrument to investigate specifically
older people with an age-specific physical activity questionnaire, filling what was an important
need in epidemiological research at that time[6].

Objective and Intended Population

Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE) is a brief (5 minutes) and easily scored survey
designed specifically to assess physical activity in epidemiological studies of persons age 65
years and older[6].

The PASE score combines information on leisure, household and occupational activity[7]. The
PASE assesses the types of activities typically chosen by older adults (walking, recreational
activities, exercise, housework, yard work, and caring for others. It uses frequency, duration, and
intensity level of activity over the previous week to assign a score, ranging from 0 to 793, with
higher scores indicating greater physical activity.[8]

Method of Use
Occupational, household and leisure activities are investigated by PASE, over a one-week
period[6][9].

The questionnaire can be administered by mail or interview (telephone or in person)[7]. The

observed effect of mode of administration on physical activity estimates is of concern and
authors recommend that the telephone version of PASE be the method of first choice,
furthermore they suggest that the mail questionnaire be used in a modified form with additional
respondent instructions in order to clarify the proper categorisation of activities, thus reducing
reporting error in the mail version[6].
PASE - Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly
The questionnaire comprises section on leisure time activity, household activity and work-related
activity as follows[9]:

Instruction

Please complete this questionnaire by either circling the correct response or filling in the blank.
Here is an example:

During the past 7 days, how often have you seen the sun?

[0.] NEVER

[1.] SELDOM (1-2 DAYS)

[2.] SOMETIMES (3-4 DAYS)

[3.] OFTEN (5-7 DAYS)

Answer all items as accurately as possible. All information is strictly confidential.

Leisure time activity

1. Over the past 7 days, how often did you participate in sitting activities such as reading,
watching TV, or doing handcrafts?

[0.] NEVER (go to question 2)

[1.] SELDOM (1-2 DAYS) (go to question 1.a and 1.b)

[2.] SOMETIMES (3-4 DAYS) (go to question 1.a and 1.b)

[3.] OFTEN (5-7 DAYS) (go to question 1.a and 1.b)

1.a What were these activities? (open end question)

1.b On average, how many hours did you engage in these sitting activities?

[0.] Less than 1 hour

[1.] 1 but less than 2 hours

[2.] 2 - 4 hours

[3.] more than 4 hours

2. Over the past 7 days, how often did you take a walk outside your home or yard for any reason?
For example, for fun or exercise, walking to work, walking the dog, etc

[0.] NEVER (go to question 3)

[1.] SELDOM (1-2 DAYS) (go to question 2.a)

[2.] SOMETIMES (3-4 DAYS) (go to question 2.a)

[3.] OFTEN (5-7 DAYS) (go to question 2.a)

2a. On average, how many hours per day did you spend walking?

[0.] Less than 1 hour

[1.] 1 but less than 2 hours

[2.] 2 - 4 hours

[3.] more than 4 hours

3. Over the past 7 days, how often did you engage in light sport or recreational activities such as
bowling, golf with a cart, shuffleboard, fishing from a boat or pier or other similar activities?

[0.] NEVER (go to question 4)

[1.] SELDOM (1-2 DAYS) (go to question 3.a and 3.b)

[2.] SOMETIMES (3-4 DAYS) (go to question 3.a and 3.b)

[3.] OFTEN (5-7 DAYS) (go to question 3.a and 3.b)

3.a What were these activities? (open end question)

3.b On average, how many hours did you engage in these light sport or recreational
activities?

[0.] Less than 1 hour

[1.] 1 but less than 2 hours

[2.] 2 - 4 hours
 [3.] more than 4 hours

4. Over the past 7 days, how often did you engage in moderate sport and recreational activities
such as doubles tennis, ballroom dancing, hunting, ice skating, golf without a cart, softball or
other similar activities?

[0.] NEVER (go to question 5)

[1.] SELDOM (1-2 DAYS) (go to question 4.a and 4.b)

[2.] SOMETIMES (3-4 DAYS) (go to question 4.a and 4.b)

[3.] OFTEN (5-7 DAYS) (go to question 4.a and 4.b)

4.a What were these activities? (open end question)

4.b On average, how many hours did you engage in these moderate sport or recreational
activities?

[0.] Less than 1 hour

[1.] 1 but less than 2 hours

[2.] 2 - 4 hours

[3.] more than 4 hours

5. Over the past 7 days, how often did you engage in strenuous sport and recreational activities
such as jogging, swimming, cycling, singles tennis, aerobic dance, skiing (downhill or cross-
country) or other similar activities?

[0.] NEVER (go to question 6)

[1.] SELDOM (1-2 DAYS) (go to question 5.a and 5.b)

[2.] SOMETIMES (3-4 DAYS) (go to question 5.a and 5.b)

[3.] OFTEN (5-7 DAYS) (go to question 5.a and 5.b)

5.a What were these activities? (open end question)

 5.b On average, how many hours did you engage in these strenuous sport or recreational
activities?

[0.] Less than 1 hour

[1.] 1 but less than 2 hours

[2.] 2 - 4 hours

[3.] more than 4 hours

6. Over the past 7 days, how often did you do any exercises specifically to increase muscle
strength and endurance, such as lifting weights or pushups, etc.?
[0.] NEVER (go to question 7)

[1.] SELDOM (1-2 DAYS) (go to question 6.a and 6.b)

[2.] SOMETIMES (3-4 DAYS) (go to question 6.a and 6.b)

[3.] OFTEN (5-7 DAYS) (go to question 6.a and 6.b)

6.a What were these activities? (open end question)

6.b On average, how many hours did you engage in these strenuous sport or recreational
activities?

[0.] Less than 1 hour

[1.] 1 but less than 2 hours

[2.] 2 - 4 hours

[3.] more than 4 hours

Household activity

7. During the past 7 days, have you done any light housework, such as dusting or washing
dishes?

[1.] NO
[2.] YES
8. During the past 7 days, have you done any heavy housework or chores, such as vacuuming,
scrubbing floors, washing windows, or carrying wood?

[1.] NO
[2.] YES

During the past 7 days, did you engage in any of the following activities? Please answer YES or
NO for each item.

a. Home repairs like painting, wallpapering, electrical work, etc.

b. Lawn work or yard care, including snow or leaf removal, wood chopping, etc.

c. Outdoor gardening

d. Caring for another person, such as children, dependent spouse, or another adult

Work-related activity

10. During the past 7 days, did you work for pay or as a volunteer?

[1.] NO
[2.] YES (go to questions 10.a and 10.b)

10a. How many hours per week did you work for pay and or as a volunteer? ____ hours

10b. Which of the following categories best describes the amount of physical activity required
on your job and or volunteer work?

1. Mainly sitting with some slight arm movement (Examples: office worker, watchmaker, seated
assembly line worker, bus driver, etc.)
2. Sitting or standing with some walking (Examples: cashier, general office worker, light tool and
machinery worker)
3. Walking with some handling of materials generally weighing less than 50 pounds (Examples:
mailman, waiter/waitress, construction worker, heavy tool and machinery worker)
4. Walking and heavy manual work often requiring handling of materials weighting over 50 pounds
(Ex: lumberjack, stone mason, farm or general labourer)
Calculations

The PASE authors devised a set of item weights (Table 1) for the PASE questionnaire by using
principal components analysis and regression techniques[6]. Total PASE scores are computed by
multiplying activity weights by activity frequencies.

Table 1: Contribution of each questionnaire item to the overall PASE score is determined by the product
of the sample mean and activity weight.

Evidences
PASE shows strong evidences for validity and reliability useful for large epidemiological studies
on general population. On more specific conditions this instrument may not be as accurate as
required, and further studies on specific conditions are needed.

Validity

Washburn et al. first studied PASE construct validity in early 90s, and it has been established by
correlating PASE scores with health status and physiologic measures[6]. PASE scores were
positively associated with grip strength (r = 0.37), static balance (r = +0.33), leg strength (r =
0.25) and negatively correlated with resting heart rate (r = - 0.13), age (r = - 0.34) and perceived
health status (r = -0.34); and overall Sickness Impact Profile score (r = -0.42)[6], thus showing a
strong validity of this instrument.

PASE construct validity has been further studied in 1999. This time it was established by
correlating PASE scores with physiologic and performance characteristics: peak oxygen uptake,
resting heart rate and blood pressure, percent body fat, and balance[7]. PASE scores were
significantly associated (P<0.05) with peak oxygen uptake (r = 0.20), systolic blood pressure (r =
-0.18) and balance score (r = 0.20); despite this, no significant associations of PASE score and
diastolic blood pressure, resting heart rate, or percent body fat were noted[7]. Anyway, these
results provided additional evidence for the validity of the PASE as a measure of physical
activity suitable for use in epidemiology studies on the association of physical activity, health,
and physical function in older individuals[7].

In 2004, PASE stability and convergent validity has been assessed among rural, community
dwelling elderly persons using Computer Science and Applications, Inc. Actigraph Monitors
(Actigraph) as the direct criterion measure[10]. The study showed there was a statistically
significant Spearman correlation coefficient of 0.43 (p<0.01) between Actigraph data and total
PASE scores[10], thus showing good validity even when compared with digital technologies.

in 2008 Hagiwara et al. evaluated a Japanese translated version of the PASE with three hundred
and twenty-five (325) healthy and elderly subjects over 65 years enrolled[11]. Concurrent validity
was evaluated by Spearman's rank correlation coefficient between PASE scores and an
accelerometer (waking steps and energy expenditure), a physical activity questionnaire for adults
in general (the Japan Arteriosclerosis Longitudinal Study Physical Activity Questionnaire,
JALSPAQ), grip strength, mid-thigh muscle area per body-weight, static balance and body-fat
percentage[11]. The PASE score was significantly correlated with walking steps (ρ = 0.17, P =
0.014), energy expenditure (ρ = 0.16, P = 0.024), activity measured with the JALSPAQ (ρ =
0.48, P < 0.001), mid-thigh muscle area per body-weight (ρ = 0.15, P = 0.006) and static balance
(ρ = 0.19, P = 0.001)[11]. Therefore, the Japanese version of PASE was shown to have acceptable
validity[11].

More recently, PASE validity has been studied for specific conditions. In cancer patients, PASE
has shown a low construct validity but a good content validity[12]. In hip osteoarthritis patients,
the PASE construct validity was poor revealing that it was unable to assess PA intensity levels.
Therefore authors stated that PASE is not recommended as a valid tool to examine PA level for
patients with hip OA[13].

Reliability

On Washburn et al. paper from 1993 authors stated that the PASE test-retest reliability
coefficient (0.75) exceeded those reported for other physical activity surveys[6]. Back then, test-
retest reliability has been assessed over a 3-7 week interval, resulting in a 0.75 (95% CI = 0.69-
0.80). Results showed also reliability for mail administration (r = 0.84) was higher than for
telephone administration (r = 0.68)[6].
Hagiwara et al. in 2008 evaluated reliability of the PASE Japanese version, by the test–retest
method over a period of 3–4 weeks[11]. The proportion of consistency in the response between
the first and second surveys was adequately high, with a intraclass correlation coefficient for the
PASE score of 0.65, showing this instrument to have acceptable reliability too[11].

Reliability has been evaluated also in specific conditions. In cancer patients, reliability for the
PASE scores ranged from good to excellent (ICC = 0.67 to 0.90)[12]; in hip osteoarthritis patients,
the test-retest reliability of the total PASE score was moderate, with acceptable ICC, but with
large measurement errors[13].