Is the six-minute walk test appropriate for detecting changes in cardiorespiratory fitness in healthy elderly men?

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to determine whether the six-minute walk test (6-MWT) can detect changes in cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) induced by exercise training in healthy elderly men.

DESIGN: Randomized and prospective controlled trial.

METHODS: Thirty-two healthy untrained men, between 65 and 75 years of age, were randomly assigned to one of three groups: control (C, n = 12), endurance training (E, n = 10), or concurrent training (ER, n = 10). Training groups underwent 24 weeks of exercise, 3 times a week. All participants were subjected to cardiopulmonary exercise testing and the 6-MWT, before and after the training period.

RESULTS: At follow-up, the E and ER groups had significantly higher peak oxygen uptake (VO(2)peak) (15.0 ± 9.1 and 12.6 ± 10.4%, respectively) and 6-MWT distances (5.5 ± 5.3 and 4.6 ± 2.8%, respectively) compared to the C group. In pre-intervention (n = 32), the 6-MWT distance correlated positively with (VO(2)peak) (r = 0.51, p = 0.001) and VO(2) at anaerobic threshold (r = 0.39, p = 0.010). On the other hand, there was no significant correlation between the changes (after-before) in the 6-MWT distance and VO(2) peak (E and ER groups: r = 0.38, p = 0.097).

CONCLUSIONS: The 6-MWT is not appropriate to evaluate changes in CRF in healthy elderly men who performed endurance and concurrent training for 24 weeks.