Background

Six-minute walk test (6MWT) is the most used test to assess functional capacity. Including arm span in the prediction equations for 6MWT performance might be an alternative for use in traditional reference equations.

Objective

The aim was to investigate the usability of arm span to predict the 6MWT distance in healthy children.

Methods

262 healthy children aged between 6 and 12 years old participated in this study. 6MWT was conducted according to the standardized protocol. Height, weight, and arm span were measured before performing the 6MWT. A multiple stepwise linear regression analysis was used to generate the regression model.

Results

The 6MWT distance had strong positive correlations with age, arm span, height, and weight (p < 0.001). There was also a very strong correlation between arm span and height (p < 0.001). Age and arm span were found as significant predictors in the first regression model. These two variables explained 60.2% of the variance in the 6MWT distance. Age and height were also found as significant predictors, explaining 60.5% of the variance in the 6MWT distance. The two following formula were obtained to predict the 6MWT distance: (−23.09 + (31.12 × Age) + (2.39 × Arm span)) or (−80.0 + (28.98 × Age) + (2.92 × Height)).

Conclusions

The results suggest that the combination of arm span (or height) and age are strong predictors of the 6MWT distance in healthy children.

中文翻译：

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臂展作为健康儿童六分钟步行测试的预测指标

背景

六分钟步行测试 (6MWT) 是评估功能能力最常用的测试。在 6MWT 性能的预测方程中包括臂展可能是用于传统参考方程的替代方法。

客观的

目的是调查臂展在预测健康儿童 6MWT 距离方面的可用性。

方法

262 名 6 至 12 岁的健康儿童参加了这项研究。6MWT是根据标准化协议进行的。在执行 6MWT 之前测量了身高、体重和臂展。多元逐步线性回归分析用于生成回归模型。

结果

6MWT距离与年龄、臂展、身高和体重呈强正相关（p  <  0.001）。臂展和身高之间也有很强的相关性（p  <  0.001）。在第一个回归模型中发现年龄和臂展是重要的预测因素。这两个变量解释了 6MWT 距离中 60.2% 的方差。年龄和身高也被发现是重要的预测因子，解释了 6MWT 距离方差的 60.5%。得到以下两个公式来预测 6MWT 距离：(−23.09  +  (31.12  ×  Age)  +  (2.39  ×  Arm span)) 或 (−80.0  +  (28.98  ×  Age)  +  (2.92 × 高度))。

结论

结果表明，臂展（或身高）和年龄的组合是健康儿童 6MWT 距离的强预测因子。