Participant characteristics and quality of recall of physical activity in the distant past

Assessment of physical activity in the distant past, usually by recall, is necessary to evaluate its etiologic effects on chronic disease. Few studies have investigated influences on such long-term recall. The authors investi gated the association of gender, age, education, marital status, current ph ysical activity, body weight, body mass index, blood pressure, and pulse wi th the quality of recall of physical activity in a Buffalo Health Study coh ort followed since the early 1960s. Comparisons of original, recalled, and current reports of physical activity were made in 137 survivors of the coho rt. The quality of recall (the difference between original and recalled rep orts) values near zero indicated the best recall; positive values, overesti mation; and negative values, underestimation. Overestimators had the highes t levels, and good recallers lower levels, of current physical activity. Al though the authors found differences by gender, age, and education, the evi dence did not support better recall by one group compared with the others. Moreover, no association of marital status, body weight, body mass index, b lood pressure, or pulse was found with the quality of recall. The results s uggest that individual respondent characteristics have little association w ith recall of past physical activity; however, current physical activity ma y be a factor to consider in studies of past physical activity and chronic disease.