title: Repeatability of aerobic capacity measurements in Parkinson disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Maximal or peak aerobic capacity (VO(2peak)) during a maximal-effort graded exercise test is considered by many to be the "gold standard" outcome for assessing the effect of exercise training on cardiorespiratory fitness. The reliability of this measure in Parkinson disease (PD) has not been established, where the degree of motor impairment can vary greatly and is influenced by medications. This study examined the reliability of VO(2peak) during a maximal-effort graded exercise test in subjects with PD.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seventy healthy middle-aged and older subjects with PD Hoehn and Yahr stage 1.5-3 underwent a screening/acclimatization maximal-effort treadmill test followed by two additional maximal-effort treadmill tests with repeated measurements of VO(2peak). A third VO(2peak) test was performed in a subset of 21 subjects.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean VO(2peak) measurement was 2.4% higher in the second test compared with the first test (21.42 ± 4.3 vs 21.93 ± 4.50 mL·kg(-1)·min(-1), mean ± SD, P = 0.03). The intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) for VO(2peak) expressed either as milliliters per kilogram per minute or as liters per minute were highly reliable, with ICC of 0.90 and 0.94, respectively. The maximum HR (ICC of 0.91) and final speed achieved during the tests (ICC of 0.94) were also highly reliable, with the respiratory quotient being the least reliable of the parameters measured (ICC of 0.65).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results demonstrate that measurement of VO(2peak) is reliable and repeatable in subjects with mild to moderate PD, thereby validating use of this parameter for assessing the effects of exercise interventions on cardiorespiratory fitness.
authors: Geriatrics Research Education and Clinical Center, Baltimore Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA. lkatzel@grecc.umaryland.edu
authors: Leslie I
authors: LI
authors: Katzel
authors: John D
authors: JD
authors: Sorkin
authors: Richard F
authors: RF
authors: Macko
authors: Barbara
authors: B
authors: Smith
authors: Frederick M
authors: FM
authors: Ivey
authors: Lisa M
authors: LM
authors: Shulman
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