Table 2.
Baseline characteristics of the study participants
| All participants | Age < 39 years | Age ≥ 39 years | Age difference | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n | Mean (SD) | Mean (SD) | Mean (SD) | p-value | ||
| 6MWT | 6MWD (m) | 50 | 372.1 (105.2) | 370.9 (120.4) | 373.4 (89.9) | 0.8 |
| Age related norm % | 50 | 52.7 (14.3) | 47.1 (14.3) | 58.2 (12.2) | 0.004 | |
| Leg pain end of testa (VAS: range 0–10) | 22 | 6.6 (1.4) | 7.0 (1.1) | 6.1 (1.7) | 0.2 | |
| % of patients with leg pain during 6MWT | 43 | 64% | 68% | 60% | – | |
| Perceived exhaustion (BORG: range 0–10) | 50 | 5.9 (1.8) | 5.9 (2.1) | 6.0 (1.6) | 0.9 | |
| HR | Base (HRR%) | 49 | 134.7 (54.6) | 117.8 (42.4) | 150.9 (60.6) | 0.04 |
| Peak (HRR%) | 47 | 159.7 (54.9) | 142.9 (41.7) | 177.3 (62.1) | 0.05 | |
| 1 min after (HRR%) | 39 | 146.6 (55.5) | 131.1 (45.2) | 162.9 (61.6) | 0.07 | |
| Other | Grip strength (kg) | 50 | 16.5 (13.0) | 12.9 (12.2) | 20.1 (13.0) | 0.04 |
| EQ5D score | 50 | 0.74 (0.20) | 0.75 (0.20) | 0.74 (0.21) | 0.9 | |
| Chair rise timeb (s) | 48 | 29.5 (21.3) | 34.0 (21.8) | 25.4 (20.3) | 0.2 | |
| % of patients where chair rise test possible | 50 | 70% | 64% | 76% | – | |
| SF-36 physical functioning | 48 | 43.7 (25.7) | 49.0 (26.4) | 38.3 (24.3) | 0.1 | |
| SF-36 social functioning | 48 | 47.7 (31.1) | 46.4 (33.9) | 49.0 (28.5) | 0.8 | |
| SF-36 mental score | 44 | 39.5 (10.4) | 40.1 (10.8) | 38.9 (9.9) | 0.7 |
6MWT 6-Minute walk test, 6MWD 6-Minute walk distance, HR Heart rate, HRR Heart rate reserve, VAS Visual analogue scale, BORG BORG rating of perceived exhaustion
aPatients without pain (pain = 0) excluded
bChair rise time scores exceeding 60 s were classified as “impossible to complete the task”