Department of Rehabilitation Health Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitations, King Abdul-Aziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
J Back Musculoskelet Rehabil. 2021;34(5):783-793. doi: 10.3233/BMR-200240.
The 6-minute walk test (6-MWT) is commonly used to measure functional capacity in clinical and research settings. The reference equations for predicting the 6-minute walk distance (6-MWD) in different populations have been established; however, there is a lack of information regarding healthy Saudi individuals over 50 years old.
This study aimed to establish the reference values of 6-MWD in a sample of healthy Saudi adults aged 50-80 years, develop regression equations for the established 6-MWD, and compare the measured 6-MWD in the present study with the predicted 6-MWD derived from the previously published regression equations.
In total, 210 healthy Saudi volunteers aged 50-80 years participated in this cross-sectional study. The 6-MWT was performed according to the American Thoracic Society (ATS) guidelines. Lung function, physical activity, blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen saturation, exertion level of leg fatigue, and sensation of dyspnea were measured.
The mean 6-MWD was 396.2 ± 69.4 m. It was significantly correlated with age, sex, height, body mass index (BMI), and physical activity. The predictors of 6-MWD were age and BMI for men, while they were age, BMI, and height for women. They accounted for 25% and 35% of the total variance of 6-MWD for men and women, respectively. The measured 6-MWD was significantly shorter than the predicted 6-MWD.
Saudi populations have significantly shorter 6-MWDs than those reported in other ethnic groups. The sex-specific equations developed in this study are expected to provide a useful measure of 6-MWT for Saudi adults. However, further investigation is required to validate the application of these equations to individuals living in different regions of Saudi Arabia.
6 分钟步行测试（6-MWT）常用于测量临床和研究环境中的功能能力。已经建立了不同人群预测 6 分钟步行距离（6-MWD）的参考方程；然而，对于 50 岁以上的沙特健康个体，这方面的信息还很缺乏。
本研究旨在建立一个 50-80 岁沙特健康成年人样本的 6-MWD 参考值，为已建立的 6-MWD 制定回归方程，并比较本研究中测量的 6-MWD 与之前发表的回归方程得出的预测 6-MWD。
共有 210 名 50-80 岁的沙特健康志愿者参加了这项横断面研究。6-MWT 按照美国胸科学会（ATS）的指南进行。测量了肺功能、身体活动、血压、心率、血氧饱和度、腿部疲劳的费力程度和呼吸困难的感觉。
平均 6-MWD 为 396.2±69.4m。它与年龄、性别、身高、体重指数（BMI）和身体活动显著相关。6-MWD 的预测因子为男性的年龄和 BMI，而女性的预测因子为年龄、BMI 和身高。它们分别占男性和女性 6-MWD 总方差的 25%和 35%。测量的 6-MWD 明显短于预测的 6-MWD。
沙特人群的 6-MWD 明显短于其他种族的报道。本研究中制定的性别特异性方程有望为沙特成年人提供 6-MWT 的有用测量值。然而，需要进一步的调查来验证这些方程在沙特阿拉伯不同地区个体中的应用。
