Correlates of 5-year decline in 6-min walk distance in the COPDGene cohort
BACKGROUND: Change in 6-min walk distance (6MWD) over time serves as a measure of change in functional exercise performance. We analysed a large cohort of current or former tobacco smokers over a 5-year period to identify correlates of 6MWD decline. METHODS: A total of 4734 participants with normal spirometry or spirometric evidence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who completed a 5-year follow-up in the COPDGene study were included. Baseline and 5-year assessments included 6MWD, spirometry, St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ), gender, race and CT measures of emphysema, gas trapping and airway wall thickness. 6MWD decline correlates relative to baseline and 5-year changes were examined using univariate and multivariate linear regression. RESULTS: ≤5%). CONCLUSION: 6MWD declined significantly, but with high variability; spirometry, CT, health status, demographic and anthropometric measures accounted for only small portions of this variance. Our findings suggest that a meaningful decline in 6MWD observed over 5 years in COPD patients is in large part related to factors other than decline in pulmonary structure or function.
Authors
- János Pórszász (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5823-0031)
- Elizabeth A. Regan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0624-9184)
- Harry B. Rossiter (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7884-0726)
- Alejandro A. Díaz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5037-2919)
- Divay Chandra (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-5555-4645)
- Aladin M. Boriek (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1467-5629)
- Alessandra Adami (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1917-9296)
- J Gordon
- Yeongjin Gwon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6974-337X)
- S RENNARD
- G Kinney
- Mehdi Rambod
- Merry-Lynn N. McDonald
- Barry J Make
- Edwin J R van Beek
- Richard Casaburi
Institutions
- Brigham and Women's Hospital (US)
- Colorado School of Public Health (US)
- University of Pittsburgh (US)
- University of Rhode Island (US)
- Baylor College of Medicine (US)
- University of Alabama System (US)
- UCLA Medical Center (US)
- National Jewish Health (US)
- University of Alabama at Birmingham (US)
- Urology San Antonio (US)
- The Queen's Medical Research Institute (GB)
- Harbor–UCLA Medical Center (US)
- University of Nebraska Medical Center (US)
- University of Colorado Denver (US)
- University of Edinburgh (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Thorax
- Published
- 2026-04-14
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1136/thorax-2025-224183
- Primary Topic
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Pfizer
- GlaxoSmithKline
- Novartis
- COPD Foundation
- Sunovion
- Genentech
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute