Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 18, 2026
Evaluation of Commercial-Off-The-Shelf Wrist Wearables to Estimate Stress on Students
Published on: June 16, 2018
Correlation between 6-min walk test and exercise stress test in healthy children
A Limsuwan1, R Wongwandee, P Khowsathit
1Division of Pediatric Cardiology, Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand. alimsuwan@yahoo.com
Insights
The 6-minute walk test (SMWT) correlates with estimated maximal oxygen consumption (eVO2) from exercise stress tests (EST) in children. SMWT can predict functional capacity and EST performance in pediatric populations.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric exercise physiology
- Cardiopulmonary function assessment
Background:
- Functional capacity is crucial for assessing children's health.
- The 6-minute walk test (SMWT) and incremental treadmill exercise stress test (EST) are common assessment tools.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the correlation between SMWT and EST as indicators of functional capacity in children.
- To determine if SMWT can predict performance on EST.
Main Methods:
- 100 healthy children aged 9-12 years participated.
- Standard protocols were used to measure anthropometric data, SMWT, and EST.
- Correlation analysis was performed on various parameters.
Main Results:
- SMWT distance showed significant correlations with height, leg length, and heart rate parameters during SMWT.
- Estimated maximal oxygen consumption (eVO2) from EST was significantly correlated with SMWT distance (r = 0.54, R(2) = 53%).
- eVO2 tended to be higher in boys than girls during EST.
Conclusions:
- SMWT distance is a significant predictor of eVO2 obtained during EST in children.
- SMWT serves as a valuable predictive marker for exercise stress test performance in pediatric populations.
Aim:
To investigate the correlation between 6-min walk test (SMWT) and incremental treadmill exercise stress test (EST) as indicators for the functional capacity in children.
Methods:
Healthy children aged 9-12 years were included. The anthropometric data, SMWT and EST were prospectively measured using the standard protocols. Various parameters were analysed to define the correlation between SMWT and EST.
Results:
A total of 100 subjects (53 boys) aged 10.3 +/- 1.0 years participated in the study. The SMWT distance was 586.1 +/- 44.0 m. Height (r = 0.59, R(2) = 35%), length of the leg (r = 0.64, R(2) = 41%), heart rate at the end of SMWT (r = 0.59, R(2) = 35%) and heart rate difference at the end of SMWT (r = 0.71, R(2) = 50%) were found to have significant correlation with SMWT distance. The estimated maximal oxygen consumption (eVO2) obtained during the EST tended to be greater in boys than in girls. Among the parameters obtained during EST, maximal heart rate (r = 0.33, R(2) = 11%) and the eVO2 (r = 0.54, R(2) = 53%) were found to have significant correlation with SMWT.
Conclusions:
SMWT distance is significantly correlated with the eVO2 obtained during the EST. This indicates that SMWT is also one of the predictive markers for EST performance.
