Evaluation of Cooper 12-minute walk/run test as a marker of cardiorespiratory fitness in young urban children with persistent asthma

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate Cooper 12-minute run/walk test (CT12) as a one-time estimate of cardiorespiratory fitness and marker of fitness change compared with treadmill fitness testing in young children with persistent asthma.

Design: A cohort of urban children with asthma participated in the asthma and exercise program and a subset completed pre- and postintervention fitness testing.

Setting: Treadmill fitness testing was conducted by an exercise physiologist in the fitness laboratory at an academic children's hospital. CT12 was conducted in a college recreation center gymnasium.

Participants: Forty-five urban children with persistent asthma aged 7 to 14 years participated in exercise interventions. A subset of 19 children completed pre- and postintervention exercise testing.

Interventions: Participants completed a 9-week exercise program where they participated in either swimming or golf 3 days a week for 1 hour. A subset of participants completed fitness testing by 2 methods before and after program completion.

Main outcome measures: CT12 results (meters), maximal oxygen consumption ((.)Vo2max) (mL x kg(-1) x min(-1)), and treadmill exercise time (minutes).

Results: CT12 and maximal oxygen consumption were moderately correlated (preintervention: 0.55, P = 0.003; postintervention: 0.48, P = 0.04) as one-time measures of fitness. Correlations of the tests as markers of change over time were poor and nonsignificant.

Conclusion: In children with asthma, CT12 is a reasonable one-time estimate of fitness but a poor marker of fitness change over time.