Lessons from 13 years of accelerometry measurements in five Brazilian cohorts: methodological aspects
This study describes key methodological decisions and their justifications for accelerometer data collection, processing, and cleaning/analysis in Pelotas (Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil) cohorts, exemplifying how research using sensor monitors could be carried out in a middle-income country context. This is a descriptive methodological study using raw accelerometer data from five Brazilian population-based cohorts with 32,963 individuals. Data collection (pre-processing decisions), processing (choosing requirements to run the analysis), and post-processing decisions (data cleaning) are described in detail. Pre-processing includes choosing the device brand/model, placement of the device, algorithms/thresholds, and the number of days participants were required to wear the devices. Processing activities involve applying thresholds/algorithms to the data. Finally, post-processing includes data cleaning. The minimum number of days to be validated to correctly estimate weekly averages was specific to age and measurement. By summarizing and describing the methodological decisions and analysis protocol, we hope to contribute to the design and analysis of accelerometer data in future studies in similar research contexts.
Authors
- Pedro Curi Hallal (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1470-6461)
- Renata de Lima Contreira (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4946-6613)
- Helen Gonçalves (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6470-3352)
- Ana Maria Baptista Menezes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2996-9427)
- Renata Moraes Bielemann (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0202-3735)
- Andréa Dâmaso Bertoldi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4680-3197)
- Luciana Tovo‐Rodrigues (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8732-6059)
- Bernardo Lessa Horta (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9843-412X)
- Grégore Iven Mielke (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3043-2715)
- Alícia Matijasevich (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0060-1589)
- Giulia Salaberry Leite (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7480-8710)
- Iná S. Santos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1258-9249)
- Marlos Rodrigues Domingues (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2503-2944)
- Fernando C. Wehrmeister (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7137-1747)
- Janaína Vieira dos Santos Motta (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3755-845X)
- Ulf Ekelund (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2115-9267)
- Andrea Wendt (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4640-2254)
- Fernando Pires Hartwig (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3729-0710)
- Inácio Crochemore‐Silva (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5390-8360)
Institutions
- Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NO)
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (US)
- The University of Queensland (AU)
- Universidade Federal de Pelotas (BR)
- Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná (BR)
- Universidade de São Paulo (BR)
- Norwegian School of Sport Sciences (NO)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Cadernos de Saúde Pública
- Published
- 2025-01-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1590/0102-311xen011724
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.88