Validation of the OMNI-cycle scale of perceived exertion in the elderly

This study examined the concurrent and construct validity of the OMNI-Cycle Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) Scale, using elderly men and women. Seventy-six participants performed a load-incremented cycle-ergometer exercise test. Concurrent validity was determined by correlating OMNI-RPE responses with oxygen uptake, relative peak oxygen uptake, pulmonary ventilation, heart rate, respiratory rate, and respiratory-exchange ratio during a load-incremented cycle-ergometer protocol. Construct validity was established by correlating RPE derived from the OMNI-Cycle Scale with RPE from the Borg (6-20) Scale. Multilevel, mixed linear-regression models indicated that OMNI-RPE distributed as a significant (p < .05) positive linear function (r = .81-.92) for all physiological measures. OMNI-RPE was positively (p < .01) and linearly related to Borg-RPE in elderly men (r = .97) and women (r = .96). This study demonstrates both concurrent and construct validity of the OMNI-Cycle RPE Scale. These findings support the use of this scaling metric with elderly men and women to estimate RPE during cycle-ergometer exercise.