title: Validity of a cardiorespiratory fitness test for men with mental retardation.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to validate a field test of cardiorespiratory fitness for men with mental retardation. The subjects were 19 healthy young men (26 +/- 6 yr) with moderate mental retardation (IQ = 48 +/- 11). Each subject underwent a maximal treadmill test after a three-phase familiarization process. Each subject also completed a 1-mile walk test twice (Rockport Fitness Walking Test = RFWT). The correlation coefficients between peak VO2 on the treadmill and the two 1-mile walks varied from 0.78 to 0.83. When weight, height, age, heart rates of 1-mile walks, and their combinations were held constant, the correlations were strengthened. Using multiple correlation analysis the best equation for predicting peak VO2 was: Peak VO2 = 101.92 - 2.356(mile-1 time) - 0.42(weight). This model accounted for 85% of total variance. The standard error of estimate was 4.06 ml.kg-1.min-1. The test-retest reliability of the RFWT for the 19 subjects used in this study was very high (R = 0.97). This finding suggests that the RFWT is a valid and reliable field test for this population and appears to be a valid indicator of cardiorespiratory fitness for these men with mental retardation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Exercise and Sport Science, Oregon State University, Corvallis 97331-6802.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rintala
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Dunn
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: McCubbin
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Quinn
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005080:Exercise Test; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D010101:Oxygen Consumption; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D016138:Walking