Six minute walk distance and reference values in healthy Italian children: A cross-sectional study.

The 6-minute walking test (6MWT) is a simple assessment tool to evaluate exercise capacity. The result of the test is the distance that a subject can walk at a constant and normal pace within 6 minutes (6MWD) and reflects the aerobic/fitness performance related to walking function. Use of 6MWT has b...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Matteo Vandoni, Luca Correale, Mariangela Valentina Puci, Christel Galvani, Roberto Codella, Fabio Togni, Antonio La Torre, Francesco Casolo, Alberto Passi, Claudio Orizio, Cristina Montomoli
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2018-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC6188863?pdf=render
id doaj-3050efac91ec4ccdb0cee767045e64c8
record_format Article
spelling doaj-3050efac91ec4ccdb0cee767045e64c82020-11-25T01:17:10ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032018-01-011310e020579210.1371/journal.pone.0205792Six minute walk distance and reference values in healthy Italian children: A cross-sectional study.Matteo VandoniLuca CorrealeMariangela Valentina PuciChristel GalvaniRoberto CodellaFabio TogniAntonio La TorreFrancesco CasoloAlberto PassiClaudio OrizioCristina MontomoliThe 6-minute walking test (6MWT) is a simple assessment tool to evaluate exercise capacity. The result of the test is the distance that a subject can walk at a constant and normal pace within 6 minutes (6MWD) and reflects the aerobic/fitness performance related to walking function. Use of 6MWT has been relevant to assess exercise tolerance either in healthy children or in patients with, heart, lung and metabolic diseases. Our aim was to find 6MWT reference values in healthy Italian children. The 6MWT was performed in 5614 children aged 6-11 years recruited from primary Italian schools. Age related reference percentiles of the covered distance were gender-modeled. A linear and quadratic regression model was used to predict 6MWT performance. Males walked longer distances than females, respectively 598.8±83.9 m vs 592.1±77.6 m (p = 0.0016). According to the regression analysis, 6MWD was positively related to age, gender and height, while it was negatively related to body weight [(6MWD = -160.16 + 93.35× age (years) -4.05× age2 (years) +7.34× gender (m) +2.12× weight (kg) -2.50× height (cm)]. Reference values were established for the 6MWT in healthy children. The age related 6MWD percentiles provided a useful tool in the assessment of capacity in 6-11 year children, in fact they may be helpful to evaluate the effect of a given treatment or rehabilitation program and represent a feasible measure as to prevention within the primary school context. It was found a substantial difference from other countries for 6mwd values. In our study, factors such as age, weight and height were relevant for the prediction of 6MWD, similarly to other studies. Therefore, these variables should be taken into account in context of exercise performance.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC6188863?pdf=render
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Matteo Vandoni
Luca Correale
Mariangela Valentina Puci
Christel Galvani
Roberto Codella
Fabio Togni
Antonio La Torre
Francesco Casolo
Alberto Passi
Claudio Orizio
Cristina Montomoli
spellingShingle Matteo Vandoni
Luca Correale
Mariangela Valentina Puci
Christel Galvani
Roberto Codella
Fabio Togni
Antonio La Torre
Francesco Casolo
Alberto Passi
Claudio Orizio
Cristina Montomoli
Six minute walk distance and reference values in healthy Italian children: A cross-sectional study.
PLoS ONE
author_facet Matteo Vandoni
Luca Correale
Mariangela Valentina Puci
Christel Galvani
Roberto Codella
Fabio Togni
Antonio La Torre
Francesco Casolo
Alberto Passi
Claudio Orizio
Cristina Montomoli
author_sort Matteo Vandoni
title Six minute walk distance and reference values in healthy Italian children: A cross-sectional study.
title_short Six minute walk distance and reference values in healthy Italian children: A cross-sectional study.
title_full Six minute walk distance and reference values in healthy Italian children: A cross-sectional study.
title_fullStr Six minute walk distance and reference values in healthy Italian children: A cross-sectional study.
title_full_unstemmed Six minute walk distance and reference values in healthy Italian children: A cross-sectional study.
title_sort six minute walk distance and reference values in healthy italian children: a cross-sectional study.
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
series PLoS ONE
issn 1932-6203
publishDate 2018-01-01
description The 6-minute walking test (6MWT) is a simple assessment tool to evaluate exercise capacity. The result of the test is the distance that a subject can walk at a constant and normal pace within 6 minutes (6MWD) and reflects the aerobic/fitness performance related to walking function. Use of 6MWT has been relevant to assess exercise tolerance either in healthy children or in patients with, heart, lung and metabolic diseases. Our aim was to find 6MWT reference values in healthy Italian children. The 6MWT was performed in 5614 children aged 6-11 years recruited from primary Italian schools. Age related reference percentiles of the covered distance were gender-modeled. A linear and quadratic regression model was used to predict 6MWT performance. Males walked longer distances than females, respectively 598.8±83.9 m vs 592.1±77.6 m (p = 0.0016). According to the regression analysis, 6MWD was positively related to age, gender and height, while it was negatively related to body weight [(6MWD = -160.16 + 93.35× age (years) -4.05× age2 (years) +7.34× gender (m) +2.12× weight (kg) -2.50× height (cm)]. Reference values were established for the 6MWT in healthy children. The age related 6MWD percentiles provided a useful tool in the assessment of capacity in 6-11 year children, in fact they may be helpful to evaluate the effect of a given treatment or rehabilitation program and represent a feasible measure as to prevention within the primary school context. It was found a substantial difference from other countries for 6mwd values. In our study, factors such as age, weight and height were relevant for the prediction of 6MWD, similarly to other studies. Therefore, these variables should be taken into account in context of exercise performance.
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC6188863?pdf=render
work_keys_str_mv AT matteovandoni sixminutewalkdistanceandreferencevaluesinhealthyitalianchildrenacrosssectionalstudy
AT lucacorreale sixminutewalkdistanceandreferencevaluesinhealthyitalianchildrenacrosssectionalstudy
AT mariangelavalentinapuci sixminutewalkdistanceandreferencevaluesinhealthyitalianchildrenacrosssectionalstudy
AT christelgalvani sixminutewalkdistanceandreferencevaluesinhealthyitalianchildrenacrosssectionalstudy
AT robertocodella sixminutewalkdistanceandreferencevaluesinhealthyitalianchildrenacrosssectionalstudy
AT fabiotogni sixminutewalkdistanceandreferencevaluesinhealthyitalianchildrenacrosssectionalstudy
AT antoniolatorre sixminutewalkdistanceandreferencevaluesinhealthyitalianchildrenacrosssectionalstudy
AT francescocasolo sixminutewalkdistanceandreferencevaluesinhealthyitalianchildrenacrosssectionalstudy
AT albertopassi sixminutewalkdistanceandreferencevaluesinhealthyitalianchildrenacrosssectionalstudy
AT claudioorizio sixminutewalkdistanceandreferencevaluesinhealthyitalianchildrenacrosssectionalstudy
AT cristinamontomoli sixminutewalkdistanceandreferencevaluesinhealthyitalianchildrenacrosssectionalstudy
_version_ 1725147731599556608