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Arm span as a predictor of the six-minute walk test in healthy children
Buse Ozcan Kahraman1, Ertugrul Yuksel2, Abdurrahman Nalbant2
1School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, Dokuz Eylül University, Izmir, Turkey.
Insights
Arm span and age effectively predict functional capacity in children, offering an alternative to traditional methods for the six-minute walk test (6MWT). This research provides new prediction formulas for 6MWT distance.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric functional capacity assessment
- Biometric prediction modeling
Background:
- The six-minute walk test (6MWT) is the standard for assessing functional capacity.
- Incorporating arm span into 6MWT prediction equations may offer an alternative to traditional methods.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the utility of arm span for predicting 6MWT distance in healthy children.
- To develop novel prediction formulas for 6MWT performance in pediatric populations.
Main Methods:
- A study involving 262 healthy children aged 6–12 years.
- Standardized 6MWT, height, weight, and arm span measurements.
- Multiple stepwise linear regression analysis to identify predictors.
Main Results:
- 6MWT distance showed strong positive correlations with age, arm span, height, and weight (p<0.001).
- Age and arm span together explained 60.2% of the variance in 6MWT distance.
- Developed prediction formulas: 6MWT = -23.09 + (31.12 × Age) + (2.39 × Arm span) or 6MWT = -80.0 + (28.98 × Age) + (2.92 × Height).
Conclusions:
- Age combined with either arm span or height are significant predictors of 6MWT distance in healthy children.
- These findings support the use of arm span as a viable predictor in pediatric functional capacity assessments.
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.
