• Marie Waatevik, Ane Johannessen, Jon A Hardie, Jan Magnus Bjordal, Pål Aukrust, Per S Bakke, and Tomas M L Eagan.
• Centre for Clinical Research, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway. marie.johanne.waatevik@helse-bergen.no
• COPD. 2012 Jun 1; 9 (3): 227-34.

BackgroundChronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can lead to severe disability as the disease advances. The 6-minute walk test (6MWT) is commonly used to measure functional capacity in COPD patients and has three potential outcomes; walking distance, oxygen desaturation, and self-perceived dyspnea assessed by the Borg scale, all reflecting different aspects of COPD. The aim of this study was to identify predictors of all 3 outcomes of 6MWT in patients with COPD.Methods370 COPD patients, aged 40-75 yrs, were included from the first phase of the Bergen COPD cohort study. They were examined with spirometry, bioelectrical impedance measurements, 6MWT, Center for Epidemiologic Studies of Depression (CES-D) Scale, Medical Research Council (MRC) dyspnea scale, Charlson index for co-morbidities, self-reported physical activity questionnaire, plasma levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and arterial blood gases.ResultsSignificant predictors in the multivariate analyses were sex, age, FEV(1) in % predicted, symptoms of dyspnea (MRC), co-morbidities (Charlson Index) and self-reported physical activity for walking distance, FEV(1) in % predicted and PaO(2) for oxygen desaturation, and body composition, smoking and co-morbidities for self-perceived dyspnea assessed by the Borg scale.ConclusionSeveral COPD characteristics have predictive value for the 6MWT, and some COPD characteristics are more strongly related to specific 6MWT outcomes than others.

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