Identifying Physical Inactivity in Older Adults with the PASE

This study is the first to propose a cutoff score for classifying physical inactivity in older adults using the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE). The research aimed to determine that cutoff value. Results show the PASE can effectively assess physical inactivity,identifying individuals with a score below 67 as physically inactive. A PASE score of 67 or less demonstrates a sensitivity of 0.76 and a specificity of 0.61, indicating moderate discrimination.

While the PASE offers moderate discrimination, its relatively low specificity means it risks misclassifying active individuals as inactive. This limits its usefulness for individual screening, but it remains valuable for monitoring physical activity at a population level. Therefore, we don’t recommend using the PASE alone for this purpose.Instead, combine it with other subjective and objective physical activity assessments.

Several studies already assess physical inactivity prevalence using various methods across different populations[[7,8,9]. Research on physical inactivity prevalence in older adults across different countries reveals that 29.8% of those in Malaysia [7], 36.7% in india [8], and 50.7% in Brazil [9] are physically inactive. This study found a prevalence of 41.37%. Literature suggests several reasons for these differences in prevalence.

Factors like varying population characteristics (developed versus developing societies, national physical activity plans), assessment timing (during a pandemic, for example), different assessment methods and cutoff values, and the age distribution of study participants can all influence prevalence rates [21].