Correlation of six-minute walking test with lung fuction and quality of life in patients with multimorbidity

Abstract

Objective To dectect six-minute walking distance (6MWD) of patients with multimorbidity by an intelligent six-minute walking test (6MWT) device, and to investigate the correlation of 6MWD with lung function, quality of life, and clinical indicators. Methods A total of 138 patients with multimorbidity who were hospitalized in the General Practice Department of Peking University Third Hospital from January to December 2022 were selected. 6MWT was conducted in patients, and pulmonary function before and after the test was measured, and the general data, height, weight, blood routine ［white blood cell (WBC) count, hemoglobin (Hb), platelet (PLT) count］, liver function ［albumin (ALB), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT)］, renal function ［creatine (Cr), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), uric acid (UA)］, carbohydrate metabolism indicators ［fasting blood glucose (FPG), glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c)］, blood lipids ［total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C)］, echocardiographic indicators ［left ventricular end diastolic diameter (LAD), E peak, A peak, left ventricular ejection fraction］ and SF-36 scores were collected. The correlations between 6MWD and the above indicators were analyzed. Results Among the 138 patients, 58, 47, 23, and 10 patients coexisted with 2, 3, 4, 5 diseases respectively. 6MWD was positively correlated with height, pre- and post-test pulmonary function ［forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1), FEV1/FVC］, physical function, role-physical, Hb, ALT, LDL-C (P＜0.05), and negatively correlated with age, FPG, HbA1c, and A-peak (P＜0.05). Conclusion 6MWD is correlated with cardiovascular function and quality of life in patients with multimorbidity, and can play an important role in evaluating and monitoring the overall function of patients with multimorbidity.

Keywords

• six-minute walking test
• multimorbidity
• chronic diseases
• cardiopulmonary function
• quality of life
• carbohydrate metabolism
• lipid metabolism