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

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 (&OV0312;o2max) (mL•kg•min), 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.