Persian, last 7-day, long form of the international physical activity questionnaire; translation and validation study

To translate long form, interview-administered International Physical Activity Questionnaire [IPAQ] from English to Persian and evaluate its validity, reliability and reproducibility. A forward-backward translation procedure was followed to develop the Persian version of the IPAQ. A total of 218 respondents [53.7% women, aged 22-76 yr] completed the Persian version in Tehran, Iran. To examine the test-retest reliability, 48 healthy volunteers completed the IPAQ twice during a 7-day period. The PA indicators derived from the IPAQ were assessed for reliability and were compared with aerobic fitness and body mass index [BM1] for construct validity. n general, the questionnaire was received well and all domains met the minimum reliability standards [intra-class correlation [ICC]> 0.7], except for Leisure-time physical activity [PA]. Aerobic fitness showed a weak positive correlation with all of the PA results derived from the IPAQ. A significant correlation was observed between the IPAQ data for total PA and both aerobic fitness [r=0.33, P<0.001] and BMI [r=0.26, P<0.001]. Performing a known group comparison analysis, the results indicated that the questionnaire was discriminated well between the subgroups of the study samples expected to be different in their physical activity. The Persian version of the long form, interview-administered IPAQ had an acceptable reliability and validity for assessing total PA in our Iranian sample of individuals. It may be a useful instrument for generating internationally comparable data on PA

Pre-participation cardiovascular screening of elderly wrestlers

Sudden death of a competitive athlete is a tragedy that is usually caused by a previously unsuspected cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study was to clarify the role of noninvasive testing in pre-participation cardiovascular evaluation of elderly wrestlers. We included 63 Iranian elderly wrestlers who participated in Tehran international elderly wrestlers' preparation camping by census method. A questionnaire including past medical and family history as well as coronary risk factors was filled out and then a complete physical examination of the cardiovascular system was done by an internist for all wrestlers. Electrocardiogram [ECG], complete echocardiographic examination and then symptom limited exercise test were performed and reported by the cardiologists who did not know the other examinations results. Exertional dyspnea and typical chest pain [FC=I or II] were present in 5% and 1.7% of the examinees, respectively. There were one or more risk factors in 64.5% of the cases. Cardiovascular examination revealed abnormal heart sounds in 27.1%. ECG showed ischemic changes in 13.6% and premature atrial contractions and premature ventricular contraction in 11.4%. echocardiography showed mild left ventricular systolic dysfunction in 3.4%, regional wall motion abnormality in 8.5%, valvular disease in 32.3%, diastolic dysfunction in 45.7%, and left ventricular hypertrophy in 16.9% of the cases. Exercise test results were negative, equivocal, positive and highly positive in 70.4%, 15.8%, 5.2%, and 8.6% of cases, respectively. Beside physical examination, pre-participation screening of elderly wrestling athletes with ECG and exercise testing is feasible and recommended in the presence of coronary risk factors or cardiac symptoms. Echocardiography can also be recommended to detect other relevant abnormalities when there is a clue in the standard history, physical examination or ECG