An Initial Assessment of the Decline With Age for the 6-minute Walk Test (6MWT) in Chinese Older Adults With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

OBJECTIVE: To establish an initial assessment of the decline with age for the 6-minute walk test (6MWT) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Chinese older adults. DESIGN: It was an observational analytical study. SETTING: The study was conducted in a local acute hospital. PARTICIPANTS: From January 2017 to January 2021, a total of 525 patients (431 men, 94 women; mean age 73.4±7.9; N=525) with COPD were studied. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Information including sex, age, Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) stages, and 6-minute walk distance (6MWD) were collected. RESULTS: The 6MWD was significantly decreased with increased age (P˂0.05). Mean 6MWD in the 61-65 years, 66-70 years, 71-75 years, 76-80 years, 81-85 years, and 86 years or above age groups were 301 m, 305 m, 274 m, 257 m, 260 m, and 215 m, respectively. The difference between the youngest and oldest age groups was 29%. The 6MWD was significantly lower in patients with more severe COPD (P˂0.05). The distance decreased from 317 m in GOLD 1, 306 m in GOLD 2, 259 m in GOLD 3 to 167 m in GOLD 4. The percentage dropped in 6MWD from GOLD 1 to GOLD 4 was 47%. CONCLUSION: An initial assessment of the decline with age for 6MWT in Chinese older adults with COPD has been established. 6MWD decreases as age (in groups 66-75, 81-85, and 86 or above) and COPD severity increases, primarily because of the increased severity of dyspnea, decline in exercise capacity, and muscle changes in aging. Health care professionals in Chinese community can use these values to evaluate these patients’ functional capacity, assess treatment effect, and set treatment goals.