PHYSICAL ACTIVITY LEVEL IN PREGNANT WOMEN FROM PRIMARY CARE CENTER USING PREGNANCY PHYSICAL ACTIVITY QUESTIONARY: A LONGITUDINAL STUDY

Roa Alcaino S.¹, Bluhm S.¹, Daszenies M.J.¹, Besomi M.¹, Leppe J.¹

¹Universidad del Desarrollo, School of Physical Therapy, Santiago, Chile

Background: Physical activity (PA) during pregnancy give many benefits. Pregnant women tends to develop excesive gestational weight gain, Gestational Diabetes, and other. This risk can be controlled doing physical activity regularly. Considering the high levels of physical inactivity and overweight in Chilean pregnancy population, it's important to consider the context of the nation related to the level of physical activity in the population.
Pregnancy Physical Activity Questionary (PPAQ) is an autoreport questionary with 36 questions, 3 domains, used to measure the physical activity level in pregnant population and it has a validated Spanish version.

Purpose: To measure the physical activity level in pregnant women attending a primary health center using the PPAQ and compare the results between the first and third trimester.

Methods: A cohort group of 95 pregnant women in a primary health care center between years 2012-2014 participated in the study. Pregnant women between 18 and 40 years old and coursing healthy pregnancy with one fetus, were eligible. The recruitment was made in the first pregnancy control, after the informed consent process was developed. The subjects completed the survey each trimester.

Results: Participants pregnant were an average age of 26 years old. They starts their pregnacy with a BMI of 26,8 and their educational level were of 12 years. The levels of the total energy expenditure of the physical activity from the first to third trimester in METs ·hr/week was P50=155, P50=117 and P50=81 respectively. According to domains from PPAQ Caregiving and Household p50: 70,9 to 40,9 METs·hr/week, Work 13,1 to 0 METs·hr/week. The domain Sport/exercise was 0 METs·hr/week in first and third trimester. Light PA decreased from P50=68,4 to P50=40,9 METs·hr/week (p 0,05) and Moderate PA decreased from P50=37,7 to P50=9,0 METs·hr/week (p 0,05). Vigorouse PA was P50=0 for all pregnant women during all trimesters.

Conclusion(s): Pregnant women decreased their PA level as pregnancy progressed for all domains and levels with a statistically significant difference between first and third trimester (p 0,05). PA levels with greater differences were Light and Moderates.

Implications: This study supports the need to design specific programs to promote physical activity in the pregnant population, specially during leisure time. The physical therapist, as specialist in movement should contribute to the planning of this programs and to involve pregnant women to participate in these, for the benefit of their health.

Funding acknowledgements: This study was conducted under a project of National Health Research Fund of the Government of Chile, FONIS SA11I2161.

Topic: Primary health care

Ethics approval: It was approved by Research Ethics Committee of the Facultad de Medicina Clínica Alemana - Universidad del Desarrollo

All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.