Abstract
Background: Equations recommended by the ERS/ATS for estimating maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max or peak) have been established in population samples with few subjects > 70 years. As a result, predicted values (pred) for elderly are largely extrapolated from linear models.
We aimed to determine if VO2max values measured in people aged >70 years diverged from pred using recommended equations.
Methods: We measured VO2peak in 184 subjects (40% women and 60% men) aged 69-89 years and used Hansen's equations for estimating VO2max.
Results: There were 49 non-diseased (ND) males and 62 with at least one disease (D) (COPD, cancer, coronary disease). In females, 34 were ND, and 39 had at least one D. VO2peak was 1.82 (0.44) L/min, 106% of pred, in ND males and 1.34 (0.45) L/min, 82% of pred, in D males. In ND females, VO2peak was 1.17 (0.29) L/min, 111% of pred, and was 1.07 (0.26) L/min, 102% of pred, in D females (NS).
4% of ND males and 3% of ND females had VO2peak < 70% of pred. The mean difference between pred VO2max and measured VO2peak was -0.09 L/min in ND males and -0.11 L/min in ND females. 90% of (predicted-measured VO2max) differences ranged between -0.77 and +0.58 L/min in ND males, and -0.57 and +0.36 L/min in ND females. Subjects with higher level of activity/week had higher VO2max (p<0.001.
Conclusions: These results support the use of Hansen's equations in elderly in populations comparable to ours.
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