Compendium of Physical Activities Strongly Underestimates the Oxygen Cost During Activities of Daily Living in Stroke Patients.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to measure the metabolic equivalent task when performing physical activities of daily living in poststroke individuals.
DESIGN: Poststroke individuals who were able to walk without human assistance were recruited and asked to perform the following activities of daily living: washing dishes (activity code: 05041 in Ainsworth's compendium), walking at a slow pace of less than 2 mph (activity code: 17151), climbing stairs (activity code: 17133), and walking down stairs (activity code: 17070). The metabolic equivalent task was measured along these activities using a portable breath gas exchange analyzer. The measured values were then compared with Ainsworth's compendium.
RESULTS: Thirty-five participants were included (mean [SD] age = 64.3 [14.3] yrs). The mean (SD) resting metabolic rate was 3.08 (0.79) ml O2 kg(-1) min(-1). The metabolic equivalent task values were significantly higher than the compendium values: metabolic equivalent task washing dishes = 2.57 (0.96) versus 1.80 for compendium; metabolic equivalent task walking = 4.16 (0.93) versus 2.00 for compendium; metabolic equivalent task climbing stairs = 5.90 (1.43) versus 4.00 for compendium; metabolic equivalent task walking down stairs = 3.29 (0.48) versus 3.50 for compendium.
CONCLUSIONS: The metabolic equivalent tasks during activities were higher than Ainsworth's compendium. Stroke individuals are thus exposed to high oxygen requirements when performing activities of daily living, which could have a strong impact on their ability to perform these activities in real life.