The Glittre activities of daily living as a potential test for functional evaluation of patients on hemodialysis: a validation study

Abstract

Purpose

To investigate the validity and within-day reliability of the Glittre activities of daily living test (Glittre ADL-test) in patients on hemodialysis.

Methods

Ninety-one patients on hemodialysis were evaluated using Glittre ADL-test, functional tests, health-related quality of life, human activity profile, and social participation. Convergent validity was analyzed by the correlation analysis. The Glittre ADL-test results were compared among different levels of the functional tests, human activity profile, and participation (known-groups validity). Within-day reliability was examined by Intra-class Correlation Coefficient (ICC).

Results

There was a significant moderate to strong correlation between Glittre ADL-test and functional tests (r = 0.62 to 0.66 and −0.70 to −0.44). A significant weak correlation was found between Glittre ADL-test, health-related quality of life (r = 0.28 to 0.32), and human activity profile (r=−0.33). There was no significant correlation with participation. Except for participation level, the Glittre ADL-test results were able to identify individuals with low performance in all evaluated tests and were able to differentiate among inactive and active individuals by human activity profile (p < 0.05). Within-day reliability was evaluated in 42 patients. The ICC was 0.97.

Conclusion

The Glittre ADL-test is a reliable test associated with functional parameters and physical aspects related to health-related quality of life, with potential value in the functional evaluation of patients on hemodialysis.

Implications for rehabilitation

• Functional impairment is a common clinical finding and is an important predictor of poor prognosis in patients on hemodialysis.

• The Glittre ADL-test has excellent within-day reliability and is a valid instrument for functional assessment in patients on hemodialysis.

• Activity limitations of patients on hemodialysis can be assessed by Glittre ADL-test.

Keywords:

• Exercise test
• evaluation
• dialing activity
• validity
• hemodialysis

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to express their gratitude to the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG), the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), and the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - Brasil (CAPES).

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest.