Relationship of 6MWD to clinical outcomes
The 6MWD has a strong relationship to important clinical outcomes in individuals with chronic respiratory
disease. A shorter 6MWD was associated with increased mortality in 13 (93%) out of the 14 COPD studies
reviewed [1]. Associations were less consistent in ILD (four (50%) out of eight studies) and PAH (six (66%)
out of nine studies) [1]. There is less evidence for the association of 6MWD with hospitalisation, but all
studies in which it was evaluated (n53, COPD and ILD) found a statistically significant relationship [1]. It
was outside the scope of this document to identify thresholds for 6MWD to categorise patients according to
their risk for these outcomes.