%0 Journal Article %A Zachary S. DePew %A Craig Karpman %A Paul J. Novotny %A Roberto P. Benzo %T Correlations between gait speed, six-minute walk, physical activity, and self-efficacy in severe chronic lung disease %D 2013 %R 10.4187/respcare.02471 %J Respiratory Care %P respcare.02471 %X Background: 4-meter gait speed (4MGS) has been associated with functional capacity and overall mortality in elderly patients and may easily be translated to daily practice. We aimed to evaluate the association of 4MGS with meaningful outcomes in chronic lung disease: 6-minute walk test (6MWT) performance, objectively measured physical activity, dyspnea, quality of life and self-efficacy for walking and routine physical activity. Methods: Patients completed a 4MGS assessment, the 6MWT, questionnaires assessing subjective dyspnea, self-efficacy, and quality of life, and wore a validated physical activity monitor. Gait speed was also measured within three separate time epochs during the 6MWT to explore variability. Results: 70 patients were enrolled. Diagnoses included COPD (51.4%), ILD (38.6%), and other pulmonary conditions (10%). Mean 4MGS was 0.85 ± 0.21 m/s, 6MWT distance was 305 ± 115 m, and physical activity level was 1.28 ± 0.17 consistent with severe physical inactivity. Gait speeds during the 6MWT within time epochs 1-2, 3-4 and 5-6 minutes were not significantly different at 1.01 ± 0.29, 0.98 ± 0.31, and 1.00 ± 0.31 m/s respectively (p > 0.5). 4MGS had a significant correlation with 6MWT performance (r = 0.70, p <0.001). 6MWT performance was the dominant variable for predicting 4MGS. Other significant variables in the prediction of 4MGS included subjective dyspnea, self-efficacy, quality of life, and objectively measured physical activity. Conclusions: 4MGS is significantly and independently associated with 6MWT performance and may serve as a reasonable simple surrogate for the 6MWT in patients with chronic lung disease. Gait speed is remarkably stable throughout the 6MWT providing rationale for the validity of an abbreviated walking test such as 4MGS. %U https://rc.rcjournal.com/content/respcare/early/2013/05/21/respcare.02471.full.pdf