Di Thommazo-Luporini,
Luciana; Carvalho, Lívia Pinheiro; Luporini, Rafael Luís; Trimer,
Renata; Pantoni, Camila Bianca Falasco; Martinez, Adalberto Felipe;
Catai, Aparecida Maria; Arena, Ross; Borghi-Silva, Audrey.

Disability & Rehabilitation, August 2016, Vol. 38 Issue: Number 18 p1820-1829, 10p;

Abstract: AbstractPurpose: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 (VO2mL 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 RehabilitationObesity 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.