Original articleSix-Minute Walk Test in Children and Adolescents
Section snippets
Method
Subjects of this study were children of Caucasian ethnicity. The study was approved by the local university ethics committee and the institutional boards of the participating local schools and kindergartens. Informed consent was obtained from parents and subjects. The measuring wheels were commercially available (Nedo GmbH + Co. KG, Dornstetten, Germany). The handling bar of the measuring wheel was customized to three interchangeable different lengths (240 mm, 370 mm, 560 mm) to fit optimally
Results
Of the 640 intended participants, 280 boys and 248 girls completed the test (82.5%). The response rate varied from 39% in the group 3 to 5 years of age to 93% in 6 to 8 years, 99% in 9 to 11 years, 94% in 12 to 15 years, and 83% in ≥16 years of age. On the day of the test, three children had to be excluded after the physical examination because of acute infection. In no case was it necessary to stop the test prematurely, and there were no unexpected events during the tests. Anthropometric
Discussion
Weight correlates to the 6MWD in adults1 but not in the children investigated. This might relate to the fact that the percentage of overweight children, according to age and sex-based BMI in our study sample was considerably lower (3.6%-5%) than the expected prevalence of 7% to 12%.11, 12, 13 As this test was voluntary, obese children might thus have refused to participate. Because of this potential bias this study group might not represent a “true” population sample. We also have incomplete
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Cited by (0)
Supported in part by an unrestricted grant from Actelion Pharmaceuticals, Austria.