title: Reliability and validity of 6MWT for outpatients with schizophrenia: A preliminary study.
abstract: Although the 6-minute walk test (6MWT) has been widely used in patients with schizophrenia, there is a lack of scientific evidence about its reliability and validity in this population. The first goal of this study was to explore the test-retest reliability of the 6MWT and to identify the associated parameters that contribute to the variability of the distance walked during the 6MWT in outpatients with schizophrenia. The second goal was to assess the criterion validity of the 6MWT in men with schizophrenia. Fifty one outpatients with schizophrenia participated in the study. To test-retest reliability (men=39; women=12), participants performed the 6MWT twice within 3 days interval. To test criterion validity (men=13), peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) was measured on a treadmill. For the associated parameters with the distance walked (n=51), medications use, smoking behavior, body and bone composition, and physical activity levels were analyzed. No significant differences between the means of the two 6MWTs were found. The intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.94 indicating good reliability. 6MWT correlated significantly with VO2peak (r=0.67) indicating criterion validity. Height, body fat mass, smoking behavior and minutes of PA/week were significantly associated with the 6MWT. Results suggest that 6MWT shows good reliability for individuals with schizophrenia and good validity for the small sample of male participants in this study.
authors.affiliation: Research Centre in Physical Activity, Health and Leisure (CIAFEL), Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal. Electronic address: aeluana@yahoo.com.br.
authors.forename: Eluana
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gomes
authors.affiliation: Centre of Research, Education, Innovation and Intervention in Sport (CIFI2D), Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal; Research Center in Sports Sciences, Health Sciences and Human Development, CIDESD, University Institute of Maia, ISMAI, Portugal.
authors.forename: Tânia
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bastos
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Kinesiology and Rehabilitation Sciences, Research Group for Adapted Physical Activity and Psychomotor Rehabilitation, Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Probst
authors.affiliation: Research Centre in Physical Activity, Health and Leisure (CIAFEL), Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: José Carlos
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
authors.affiliation: Research Centre in Physical Activity, Health and Leisure (CIAFEL), Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Gustavo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.affiliation: Research Centre in Physical Activity, Health and Leisure (CIAFEL), Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Corredeira
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005080:Exercise Test / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010045:Outpatients; D010101:Oxygen Consumption / Q000502:physiology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012907:Smoking; D016138:Walking
keywords: Association; Exercise test; Schizophrenia; Walking