En jämförande studie av två submaximala cykelergometertest för beräkning av maximal syreupptagningsförmåga (VO₂max)

Sammanfattning:

BACKGROUND: Maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) is an important predictor for cardiovascular health. VO2max is often calculated using submaximal tests in clinic. Ekblom-Bak (EB-test) test is a new submaximal cycle ergometer test for calculating VO2max based on differences in heart frequency between two different workloads.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to examine the correlation and agreement between the two methods for calculating VO2max; Åstrand cycle test (Å-test) and EB-test. A secondary aim was also to examine VO2max of physiotherapy students in Uppsala.

METHODS: The study design was descriptive and comparative. 30 subjects aged 20-30 were recruited by convenience sampling. Both tests were performed during the same session. Agreement and correlation between the two tests was calculated through paired t-tests and Pearson’s correlation coefficients respectively.

RESULTS: Calculated VO2max for the subjects was on average 3.65 L/min, 52.03 ml/kg/min (EB-test) and 3.38 L/min, 47.97 ml/kg/min (Å-test). The differences between the two tests were statistically significant for both L/min (p = 0.01) and ml/kg/min (p = 0.009). The correlation between the two tests was r = 0.76 (L/min) and r = 0.59 (ml/kg/min) respectively.

CONCLUSION: This study shows a statistically significant difference between the two submaximal cycle ergometer tests for calculating VO2max. The difference between the two tests is clinically significant and should be considered upon use. Both tests should be used consistently upon evaluating different treatments. Further research in the area is needed.