Development of multistage 10-m shuttle run test for VO(2)max estimation in healthy adults

Background and objective: The disadvantage of the traditional 20-m multistage shuttle run test (MST) is that it requires a long space for measurements and does not include various age groups to develop the test. Therefore, we developed a new MST to improve the spatial limitation by reducing the measurement to a 10-m distance and to resolve the bias via uniform distributions of gender and age. Material and methods: Study subjects included 120 healthy adults (60 males and 60 females) aged 20 to 50 years. All subjects performed a graded maximal exercise test (GXT) and a 10-m MST at five-day intervals. We developed a regression model using 70% of the subject's data and performed a cross-validation test using 30% of the data. Results: The male regression model's coefficient of determination (R-2) was 58.8%, and the standard error of estimation (SEE) was 4.17 mL/kg/min. The female regression model's R-2 was 69.2%, and the SEE was 3.39 mL/kg/min. The 10-m MST showed a high correlation with GXT on the VO(2)max (males: 0.816; females: 0.821). In the cross-validation test for the developed regression models, the male's SEE was 4.38 mL/kg/min, and the female's SEE was 4.56 mL/kg/min. Conclusion: Thus, the 10-m MST is an accurate and valid method for estimating the VO(2)max. Therefore, the 10-m MST developed by us can be used when the existing 20-m MST cannot be used due to spatial limitations and can be applied to both men and women in their 20s and 50s.

Automated summary

The study found that the developed 10-m multistage shuttle run test is an accurate and valid method for estimating VO2max, which can solve the spatial limitations of the traditional 20-m MST and can be applied to men and women in different age groups.