Aerobic Capacity of Local Children with Chronic Kidney Disease

Abstract Description

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Authors (including presenting author) :

Cheung MW(1), Ho YB(1), Lee P(1), Chan R(1), Pak H(1), Tsang B(1), Chan N(1), Ma A(2)

Affiliation :

(1) Department of Physiotherapy, Hong Kong Children’s Hospital (2) Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Princess Margaret Hospital

Introduction :

Aerobic capacity is an important physical fitness attributes required for daily functioning. Children with chronic kidney disease (CKD) often deprive of exercise participation because of the disease and its treatment processes, resulting in physical deconditioning which may affect their aerobic fitness.

Objectives :

To study the aerobic capacity of local children with CKD.

Methodology :

37 subjects were included, 8 of them were studying in primary school (PS) with age 7 to 12 (9.87±2.23), 15 of them were in junior-secondary school (JSS) with age 13 to 15 (14.13±0.74), and 14 in senior-secondary school (SSS) with age 16 to 18 (17.07±0.83). The aerobic capacity of the children was tested by (1) Six-Minute Walking Test: a performance-related fitness test, in which the distance walked by the subject in 6 minutes (6MWD) was proven to be significantly correlated with the maximum oxygen consumption obtained at Bruce treadmill test (VO2max); and (2) Fitkids Treadmill Test: a new treadmill protocol, in which the endurance time (FTTET) obtained by the subject was proven to be highly correlated with VO2max. 6MWD and FTTET were compared with the published reference values.

Result & Outcome :

The 6MWD were 432.14±117.13m in PS, 443.71±69.10m in JSS, and 459.31±92.48m in SSS. The corresponding means of PS, JSS and SSS were 67.47% (±22.61), 66.25% (±11.70), 69.55% (13.96) of their respective predicted 6MWD of healthy subjects. The FTTET were 7.57±1.77min in PS , 7.03±2.33min in JSS, and 7.08±3.32min in SSS. The corresponding means of PS, JSS and SSS were 67.22% (±14.73), 55.14% (±21.41), 50.55% (±21.57) of their respective predicted FTTET of healthy children. Conclusion: The aerobic capacity of local children with CKD of all age ranges (from primary school to senior-secondary school) had lower aerobic capacity when compared with the healthy references. Their aerobic capacity performance was only about 50% to 70% of the normative means. Poor aerobic fitness is proven to be an independent risk factor for mortality. It highlights the importance of investigating the role of exercise in improving the cardiovascular risk in children with CKD.