Sponsor
Portland State University. School of Community Health
First Advisor
Gary Brodowicz
Date of Publication
12-23-1997
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (M.S.) in Health Studies
Department
Community Health
Subjects
Plethysmography, Physical fitness -- Testing
DOI
10.15760/etd.7247
Physical Description
1 online resource, ( 89p.)
Abstract
Plethysmography is a technique used for measuring alterations in the volume of organs or limbs. Japanese researchers have developed a relatively new application of plethysmography (accelerated plethysmography) that uses information from the pulse wave measured at the fingertip to make inferences about health and fitness status. The instrument used to collect data -- the Precaregraph (accelerated plethysmograph) -- provides an accelerated pulse waveform and and APG index, a mathematical representation of the waveform. It was the purpose of this study to evaluate the validity of the Precaregraph by examining the relationship between the APG index and previously validated measures of health and fitness status.
Forty-three individuals volunteered for participation. Blood pressure, resting heart rate, weekly physical activity level, estimated V̇02max, cardiovascular disease risk, body composition and APG index were measured.
The APG index demonstrated acceptable reliability in the pilot study (R=.999). In the principal investigation, the only measures related to the APG index were age (r=-.780), V̇02max (r=.709), and weekly physical activity level (r=.328). No significant correlations were found between any other variables. Correlations with the same independent variables were found when subjects were dichotomized into older and younger groups and high-fit and low-fit groups.
It was concluded that the Precaregraph may be a useful instrument for evaluating fitness status, but its efficacy for evaluating health or disease remains to be determined. Further studies are needed to gather additional data to confirm these results.
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/30827
Recommended Citation
Humble, Angela Marie, "Evaluation of Accelerated Plethysmography as a Measure of Health and Fitness" (1997). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 5375.
https://doi.org/10.15760/etd.7247
Comments
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