Can the Six-Minute Step Test Predict the VO2 Peak in Healthy Young Men?
YC01-YC04
Correspondence
Dr. Marcos Polito,
Rodovia Celso Garcia Cid km 380, Londrina, Parana, Brazil.
E-mail: marcospolito@uel.br
Introduction: The six-minute step test can estimate the oxygen consumption in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. However, the literature is scarce regarding to six-minute step test application to health and young subjects.
Aim: To correlate peak oxygen consumption (VO2 peak) obtained in a Cardiopulmonary Exercise Test (CPX) with performance in the 6-Minute Step Test (6MST) in a group of healthy young men.
Materials and Methods: In a prospective observational cross-sectional study, thirty-one young healthy men (22.3±2.2years) were volunteers. The study was conducted during two non-consecutive days. On the first day, the VO2 peak was obtained using CPX on a treadmill. After 72 hour, the 6MST (20 cm of height) was performed at a self-selected cadence. The reproducibility of the 6MST was tested in 14 subjects, 30 minute after the first 6MST.
Results: The 6MST demonstrated reproducibility (ICC=0.977; 95%CI 0.932 to 0.992). There was a significant correlation between the total number of steps and heart rate in the 6th minute of the 6MST (r=0.794; p<0.001). The multiple regression did not identify variables that could be associated with the VO2 peak.
Conclusion: The 6MST has no power to estimate the VO2 peak in healthy young men.