Résumé
The need for a 6-min walk distance (6-MWD) reference equation for healthy North African adults older than 40 years was assessed in a prospective cross-sectional study.
Anthropometric data and 6-MWD were measured in 229 healthy Tunisian adults (125 women) over 40 years old. Two subgroups of 38 women were identified according to the parity (low
≤
5; high
≥
6).
The published reference equations did not reliably predict measured 6-MWD. The 6-MWD was significantly correlated with gender, age, weight and height (
p
<
0.001). The combination of these parameters explained 77% of the 6-MWD variability in the equation: 6-MWD (m)
=
−160.27
×
gender (0: men; 1: women) – 5.14
×
age (yr) – 2.23
×
weight (kg)
+
2.72
×
height (cm)
+
720.50. Parity accelerated the 6-MWD decline (
r
=
−0.39,
p
<
0.05) and women distinguished only by parity (≤5 vs. ≥6) showed different 6-MWD (589
±
60
m vs. 555
±
57
m,
p
<
0.05). In an additional group of 30 adults prospectively studied to validate the equation, the agreement between the measured and equation-predicted 6-MWD was satisfactory.
In conclusion, this reliable 6-MWD reference equation enriches the World Bank and provides an important element of interpretation for women with high parity.