A new standardized treadmill walking test requiring low motor skills in children aged 4-10 years

Wäffler-Kammermann, Nathalie; Lacorcia, Ruth Stauffer; Wettstein, Markus; Radlinger, Lorenz; Frey, Urs (2008). A new standardized treadmill walking test requiring low motor skills in children aged 4-10 years. Pediatric pulmonology, 43(2), pp. 187-95. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley-Blackwell 10.1002/ppul.20758

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Exercise intolerance may be reported by parents of young children with respiratory diseases. There is, however, a lack of standardized exercise protocols which allow verification of these reports especially in younger children. Consequently the aims of this pilot study were to develop a standardized treadmill walking test for children aged 4-10 years demanding low sensorimotor skills and achieving high physical exhaustion. In a prospective experimental cross sectional pilot study, 33 healthy Caucasian children were separated into three groups: G1 (4-6 years, n = 10), G2 (7-8 years, n = 12), and G3 (9-10 years, n = 11). Children performed the treadmill walking test with increasing exercise levels up to peak condition with maximal exhaustion. Gas exchange, heart rate, and lactate were measured during the test, spirometry before and after. Parameters were statistically calculated at all exercise levels as well as at 2 and 4 mmol/L lactate level for group differences (Kruskal-Wallis H-test, alpha = 0.05; post hoc: Mann-Whitney U-test with Bonferroni correction alpha = 0.05/n) and test-retest differences (Wilcoxon-rank-sum test) with SPSS. The treadmill walking test could be demonstrated to be feasible with a good repeatability within groups for most of the parameters. All children achieved a high exhaustion level. At peak level under exhaustion condition only the absolute VO2 and VCO2 differed significantly between age groups. In conclusion this newly designed treadmill walking test indicates a good feasibility, safety, and repeatability. It suggests the potential usefulness of exercise capacity monitoring for children aged from early 4 to 10 years. Various applications and test modifications will be investigated in further studies.

Item Type:	Journal Article (Original Article)
Division/Institute:	04 Faculty of Medicine > Department of Gynaecology, Paediatrics and Endocrinology (DFKE) > Clinic of Paediatric Medicine
UniBE Contributor:	Frey, Urs Peter
ISSN:	8755-6863
ISBN:	18085681
Publisher:	Wiley-Blackwell
Language:	English
Submitter:	Anette van Dorland
Date Deposited:	04 Oct 2013 15:03
Last Modified:	05 Dec 2022 14:19
Publisher DOI:	10.1002/ppul.20758
PubMed ID:	18085681
Web of Science ID:	000253401900011
URI:	https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/27201 (FactScience: 104944)