Mobility-related function in older adults: assessment with a 6-minute walk test.

Abstract

To determine the usefulness of the 6-minute walk test as an integrated measure of mobility in older adults. Observational study. Community centers and retirement homes in the Los Angeles area. Eighty-six older adults without significant disease. None. Assessments included the 6-minute walk, chair stands, standing balance, gait speed, body mass index, and self-reported physical functioning and general health perceptions. One-week test-retest reliability of the 6-minute walk was .95. As hypothesized, the 6-minute walk distance was significantly greater for active than for inactive older adults (p < .0001), moderately correlated with chair stands (r = .67), standing balance (r = .52), and gait speed (r = -.73). It had a low correlation with body mass index (r = -.07). The correlation of the 6-minute walk with self-reported physical functioning was .55, and its correlation with general health perceptions was .39. Self-report and performance measures explained 69% of the variance in 6-minute walk scores. The 6-minute walk test is reliable and is valid in relation to the performance and self-reported indicators of physical functioning tested in this study. It could serve as a useful integrated measure of mobility.