Article

PURPOSE: To investigate if cardiovascular and metabolic responses to the
six-minute walk test (6MWT)
and incremental shuttle walking test (ISWT) are in
agreement with cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPX) and determine if both
submaximal tests are interchangeable in obese and eutrophic individuals.
METHOD: Observational and cross-sectional study included 51 obese women (ObG) and 21
controls (CG) (20-45 years old). Subjects underwent clinical evaluation, CPX, the
6MWT and ISWT. We applied Bland-Altman plots to assess agreement between walking
tests and CPX. Correlation analysis assessed relationships between key variables.
RESULTS: There was an agreement between CPX and both the 6MWT [oxygen uptake (VO2
mL kg(-1) min(-1)) = 6.9 (CI: 5.7-8.1), and heart rate (bpm) = 37.0 (CI:
33.3-40.7)] and ISWT [VO2 (mL kg(-1) min(-1)) = 6.1 (CI: 4.9-7.3), and heart rate
(bpm) = 36.2 (CI: 32.1-40.3)]. We found similar cardiovascular and metabolic
responses to both tests in the ObG but not in the CG. Strong correlations were
demonstrated between 6MWT and ISWT variables: VO2 ( r = 0.70); dyspnoea (r =
0.80); and leg fatigue (r = 0.70). CONCLUSIONS: 6MWT and ISWT may both hold
interchangeable clinical value when contrasted with CPX in obese women and may be
a viable alternative in the clinical setting when resources and staffing are
limited. Implications for Rehabilitation Obesity is a worldwide epidemic, with
high prevalence in women,
and it is associated to impaired cardiorespiratory
fitness and functional capacity as well as high mortality risk. Assessing oxygen
uptake by means of cardiopulmonary exercise testing is the gold standard method
for evaluating and stratifying cardiorespiratory fitness, however it is not ever
applied due to costs and staffing. Walking field tests may be a cost-effective
approach that provides valuable information regarding the functional capacity in
agreement to metabolic and cardiovascular responses of cardiopulmonary exercise
testing.

Langue : ANGLAIS