Reference Values in the 6-Minute Walk Test in Chilean Children Aged 3-10 Years and Relationship With Cardiometabolic...

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Exercise Physiology
• Cardiometabolic Health
• Biostatistics

Background:

• Establishing normative data for pediatric functional assessments is crucial for identifying deviations from typical development.
• Cardiometabolic risk factors are increasingly prevalent in children, potentially impacting physical performance.
• The 6-minute walking test (6MWT) is a widely used measure of functional exercise capacity in children.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine sex- and age-specific reference values for the 6-minute walking test (6MWT) in healthy Chilean children aged 3-10 years.
• To evaluate the relationship between 6MWT performance and cardiometabolic risk variables in this population.
• To develop a predictive equation for 6MWT performance in prepubertal children.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving 1165 healthy Chilean children aged 3-10 years.
• The 6-minute walking test (6MWT) was administered to assess exercise performance.
• Anthropometric measurements (height, weight, BMI, waist circumference, skinfolds) and resting cardiovascular parameters (heart rate, blood pressure) were collected.

Main Results:

• The 6-minute walk distance significantly increased with age from 3 to 10 years.
• 6MWT performance was positively associated with age, systolic blood pressure, and height.
• Negative correlations were observed between 6MWT distance and sum of 4 skinfolds, resting heart rate, diastolic blood pressure, and waist circumference.
• Prevalence of overweight and obesity was high in both preschool and school-aged children.

Conclusions:

• Reference equations and percentile curves were developed for predicting 6MWT performance in Chilean children.
• Age is the primary determinant of 6MWT distance, but cardiometabolic factors provide additional predictive information.
• These reference values can aid in the clinical assessment of exercise capacity and cardiometabolic health in children.