The 6-Minute Walk Test: DIFFERENCE in EXPLANATORY VARIABLES for PERFORMANCE by COMMUNITY-DWELLING OLDER ADULTS and PATIENTS HOSPITALIZED for CARDIAC DISEASE

Purpose: To examine the use of 10-m usual walking speed as an explanatory variable of the 6-min walk test distance (6MWD) in cardiac patients and community-dwelling older adults. Methods: This was a cross-sectional secondary analysis correlational study. Participants of the present study were 119 patients hospitalized for cardiac disease and 109 community-dwelling older adults. Data including 6MWD, 10-m usual walking speed, age, sex, grip strength, height, weight, and cognitive function were obtained from the medical records of patients in 2 acute care hospitals and a cohort of community-dwelling Japanese older adults. Multiple linear regression models for the 6MWD were examined in each group. Results: The mean ± standard deviation for 6MWDs were 276 ± 106 m in hospitalized patients and 466 ± 81 m in community-dwelling older adults. In both groups, 10-m usual walking speed was the strongest factor correlated with 6MWD. On univariate analysis, the correlation between walking tests was stronger in the hospitalized group (β =.855) than in the community-dwelling elderly (β =.627). When age and sex were added into the models, the determination coefficients improved (adjusted R² = 0.745 and 0.463 in the hospitalized patients and the community-dwelling elderly, respectively). Conclusions: The present findings indicated that the 6MWD was more strongly associated with 10-m usual walking speed in patients hospitalized for cardiac disease than in community-dwelling older adults. The predictive validity of 10-m walking speed for future adverse outcomes among cardiac patients is an issue for future research.