Key result
Type 2 diabetes with and without complications was associated with reduced 6-min walk distance compared to healthy controls (-84 m [95% CI -104 to -63] and -60 m [-77 to -42], respectively).
Why the study?
Does Type 2 diabetes reduce 6-min walk distance in adults compared to healthy controls?
Observational (n=261)
Yes
Does Type 2 diabetes reduce 6-min walk distance in adults compared to healthy controls?
Effect estimate: Difference -84 m (95% CI -104 to -63)
Absolute Event Rate: 376% vs 469%
p-value: p=<0.001
Adults with Type 2 diabetes, even without complications, have significantly reduced functional capacity as measured by the 6-minute walk test compared to healthy controls.
T2D may warrant functional capacity screening in adults; case-control data leaves open causality and intervention effects.
AIM: To identify impairment in functional capacity associated with complicated and non-complicated diabetes using the 6-min walk distance test. METHODS: We enrolled 111 adults, aged ≥40 years, with Type 2 diabetes from a hospital facility and 150 healthy control subjects of similar age and sex from a community site in Lima, Peru. All participants completed a 6-min walk test. RESULTS: The mean age of the 261 participants was 58.3 years, and 43.3% were male. Among those with diabetes, 67 (60%) had non-complicated diabetes and 44 (40%) had complications such as peripheral neuropathy, retinopathy or nephropathy. The mean unadjusted 6-min walk distances were 376 m and 394 m in adults with and without diabetes complications, respectively, vs 469 m in control subjects (P<0.001). In multivariable regression, the subjects with diabetes complications walked 84 m less far (95% CI -104 to -63 m) and those without complications walked 60 m less far (-77 to -42 m) than did control subjects. When using HbA1c level as a covariate in multivariable regression, participants walked 13 m less far (-16.9 to -9.9 m) for each % increase in HbA1c . CONCLUSIONS: The subjects with diabetes had lower functional capacity compared with healthy control subjects with similar characteristics. Differences in 6-min walk distance were even apparent in the subjects without diabetes complications. Potential mechanisms that could explain this finding are early cardiovascular disease or deconditioning.
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Stewart et al. (2015) conducted an observational in Type 2 diabetes (n=261). Type 2 diabetes vs. Healthy control subjects was evaluated on 6-min walk distance (Difference -84 m, 95% CI -104 to -63, p=<0.001). Type 2 diabetes with and without complications was associated with reduced 6-min walk distance compared to healthy controls (-84 m [95% CI -104 to -63] and -60 m [-77 to -42], respectively).
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