A Comparison of Wrist- Versus Hip-Worn ActiGraph Sensors for Assessing Physical Activity in Adults: A Systematic Review

in Journal for the Measurement of Physical Behaviour

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Nolan GallDivision of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

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Ruopeng SunDivision of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

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Matthew SmuckDivision of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

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DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1123/jmpb.2021-0045
Keywords:
accelerometer; physical activity; sedentary time; review
First Published Online:
09 Sep 2022
In Print:
Volume 5: Issue 4
Page Range:
252–262
Restricted access

Introduction: Wrist-worn accelerometer has gained popularity recently in commercial and research use for physical activity tracking. Yet, no consensus exists for standardized wrist-worn data processing, and physical activity data derived from wrist-worn accelerometer cannot be directly compared with data derived from the historically used hip-worn accelerometer. In this work, through a systematic review, we aim to identify and analyze discrepancies between wrist-worn versus hip-worn ActiGraph accelerometers in measuring adult physical activity. Methods: A systematic review was conducted on studies involving free-living data comparison between hip- and wrist-worn ActiGraph accelerometers among adult users. We assessed the population, study protocols, data processing criteria (axis, epoch, wear-time correction, etc.), and outcome measures (step count, sedentary activity time, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, etc.). Step count and activity count discrepancy were analyzed using meta-analysis, while meta-analysis was not attempted for others due to heterogeneous data processing criteria among the studies. Results: We screened 235 studies with 19 studies qualifying for inclusion in the systematic review. Through meta-analysis, the wrist-worn sensor recorded, on average, 3,537 steps/day more than the hip-worn sensor. Regarding sedentary activity time and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity estimation, the wrist sensor consistently overestimates moderate-to-vigorous physical activity time while underestimating sedentary activity time, with discrepancies ranging from a dozen minutes to several hours. Discussions: Our findings quantified the substantial discrepancies between wrist and hip sensors. It calls attention to the need for a cautious approach to interpreting data from different wear locations. These results may also serve as a reference for data comparisons among studies using different sensor locations.

Gall and Sun are co-first authors. Sun (rusun@stanford.edu) is corresponding author, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0738-3721

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