AUTHOR=Jones Siana , Tillin Therese , Williams Suzanne , Coady Emma , Chaturvedi Nishi , Hughes Alun D. TITLE=Assessment of Exercise Capacity and Oxygen Consumption Using a 6 min Stepper Test in Older Adults JOURNAL=Frontiers in Physiology VOLUME=8 YEAR=2017 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/articles/10.3389/fphys.2017.00408 DOI=10.3389/fphys.2017.00408 ISSN=1664-042X ABSTRACT=
It is often necessary to assess physical function in older adults to monitor disease progression, rehabilitation or decline in function with age. However, increasing frailty and poor balance that accompany aging are common barriers to exercise testing protocols. We investigated whether a 6-min stepper test (6MST) was acceptable to older adults and provided a measure of exercise capacity and a predicted value for peak aerobic capacity (VO2max). 635 older adults from a tri-ethnic UK population-based cohort were screened to undertake a self-paced 6MST. Expired gas analysis, heart rate and blood pressure monitoring were carried out. A sub-set of 20 participants performed a second 6MST for assessment of reproducibility and a further sub-set of 10 performed the 6-min walk test as verification against a well-recognized and accepted self-paced exercise test. 518 (82%) participants met inclusion criteria and undertook the 6MST (299 men, mean age 71.2 ± 6.4). Step rate showed a strong positive correlation with measured VO2 (