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Validation of a Novel Incremental Step Test for Assessment of Cardiopulmonary Fitness and Ventilatory Thresholds in Adults (VALID-IST)

14. september 2026 opdateret af: David King, Heriot-Watt University
The purpose of this single-group diagnostic validation and test-retest reliability study is to determine whether a novel Incremental Step Test (IST) can accurately assess cardiorespiratory fitness and ventilatory thresholds in healthy adults compared with an established laboratory-based cycle ergometer Cardiopulmonary Exercise Test (CPET). The main questions are whether the step test can elicit reliable physiological responses sufficient to identify the anaerobic threshold and respiratory compensation point, and whether it produces reproducible results when repeated under standardised conditions. The study will compare the incremental step test (IST) with CPET to assess whether the IST provides similar peak and submaximal physiological measures and agreement with CPET comparator. Participants will complete three laboratory exercise tests across separate visits: one maximal CPET on a cycle ergometer, followed by two repeated ISTs performed on a 25 cm step board following the audio metronome.

Studieoversigt

Status

Tilmelding efter invitation

Betingelser

Intervention / Behandling

Detaljeret beskrivelse

Participants will attend three laboratory visits separated by at least 3 days and conducted at similar times of the day. The first visit will include screening, anthropometric assessment, and a maximal CPET on an electronically braked cycle ergometer using a ramp protocol of 25 W/min for males and 20 W/min for females. Participants will complete 3 minutes of unloaded cycling followed by incremental protocol while maintaining the cadence at least 60 rpm, and the test will be terminated if they can no longer can sustain this cadence. Following CPET, participants will complete a 6-minute familiarisation session to practise the stepping activity, including the up-up-down-down stepping technique and alternation of the leading leg every 2 minutes. The second and third visits will involve repeated IST trials performed on 25 cm step board, with cadence progressed from 20 beats per minute and increased by 4 beats per minute every 20 seconds until volitional exhaustion. The IST will be terminated if the participant is unable to maintain the prescribed stepping rhythm for more than 15 seconds. Continuous breath-by-breath gas exchange, ECG, and heart rate monitoring will be used during testing to characterise peak performance and ventilatory threshold responses. Agreement between the step test and CPET, as well as test-retest reproducibility of the IST, will be evaluated to determine whether the new protocol could support more individualised exercise prescription in stepping-based activities.

Undersøgelsestype

Interventionel

Tilmelding (Anslået)

30

Fase

  • Ikke anvendelig

Kontakter og lokationer

Dette afsnit indeholder kontaktoplysninger for dem, der udfører undersøgelsen, og oplysninger om, hvor denne undersøgelse udføres.

Studiesteder

Deltagelseskriterier

Forskere leder efter personer, der passer til en bestemt beskrivelse, kaldet berettigelseskriterier. Nogle eksempler på disse kriterier er en persons generelle helbredstilstand eller tidligere behandlinger.

Berettigelseskriterier

Aldre berettiget til at studere

  • Voksen

Tager imod sunde frivillige

Ja

Beskrivelse

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Healthy adults aged 18 to 55 years.
  2. Body mass index between 18.5 and 29.9 kg/m².
  3. Non-smoker.
  4. No known cardiovascular, respiratory, metabolic, neurological, or musculoskeletal conditions that would contraindicate maximal exercise testing.
  5. Able to provide written informed consent.
  6. Willing and able to complete one Cardiopulmonary Exercise Test and two Incremental Step Test sessions.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Age younger than 18 years or older than 55 years.
  2. Body mass index below 18.5 kg/m² or above 29.9 kg/m².
  3. Current smoker or use of nicotine products.
  4. Known cardiovascular, respiratory, metabolic, neurological, or musculoskeletal conditions that may affect exercise performance or make maximal exercise testing unsafe.
  5. Any contraindication to maximal exercise testing according to established exercise testing guidelines.
  6. Use of medications known to significantly affect cardiovascular, respiratory, or metabolic responses to exercise.
  7. Current injury, illness, or infection that may limit participation in exercise testing.
  8. Pregnancy.
  9. Inability to provide informed consent.

  10. Inability to complete study procedures or attend all required study visits.

    -

Studieplan

Dette afsnit indeholder detaljer om studieplanen, herunder hvordan undersøgelsen er designet, og hvad undersøgelsen måler.

Hvordan er undersøgelsen tilrettelagt?

Design detaljer

  • Primært formål: Diagnostisk
  • Tildeling: N/A
  • Interventionel model: Enkelt gruppeopgave
  • Maskning: Ingen (Åben etiket)

Våben og indgreb

Deltagergruppe / Arm
Intervention / Behandling
Eksperimentel: Incremental Step Test Validation Protocol
Participants will complete one laboratory-based Cardiopulmonary Exercise Test followed by two Incremental Step Test sessions conducted on separate visits. The first visit will include screening, anthropometric measurements, and a maximal incremental CPET on an electronically braked cycle ergometer using an individualised ramp protocol set at 25 W/min for males and 20 W/min for females, after 3 minutes of unloaded cycling. The second and third visits will involve two repeated incremental step tests on a standardised 25 cm step, with cadence starting at 20 beats per minute and increasing by 4 beats per minute every 20 seconds until volitional exhaustion. The CPET will be terminated if participants could not maintain a cadence of at least 60 rpm, and the step test will be terminated if participants could not maintain the prescribed stepping rhythm for 15 consecutive seconds. Exercise ECG, continuous heart rate, and breath-by-breath gas exchange will be recorded during all exercise tests.
Diagnostisk test: Cardiopulmonary Exercise Test
A maximal incremental exercise test performed on a cycle ergometer with continuous breath-by-breath gas exchange and heart rate monitoring to assess cardiorespiratory fitness and physiological response
Diagnostisk test: Incremental Step Test
A progressive step test using a standardised 25 cm step platform. Participants will complete a 3-minute warm-up at 20 beats per minute before cadence increases by 4 beats per minute every 20 seconds until volitional exhaustion or predefined termination criteria are reached.

Hvad måler undersøgelsen?

Primære resultatmål

Resultatmål
Foranstaltningsbeskrivelse
Tidsramme
Between-method agreement in oxygen uptake at Anaerobic Threshold (AT)
Tidsramme: Baseline (Day 1-CPET) and IST assessments at Visits 2 and 3, scheduled at 3-7-day intervals.
Agreement between the Incremental Step Test and the established laboratory-based cycle ergometer Cardiopulmonary Exercise Test comparator for oxygen uptake at Anaerobic Threshold (mL/min), will be assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients and Bland-Altman analysis.
Baseline (Day 1-CPET) and IST assessments at Visits 2 and 3, scheduled at 3-7-day intervals.
Between-method agreement in oxygen uptake at Respiratory Compensation Point (RCP)
Tidsramme: Baseline (Day 1-CPET) and IST assessments at Visits 2 and 3, scheduled at 3-7-day intervals.
Agreement between the Incremental Step Test and the established laboratory-based cycle ergometer Cardiopulmonary Exercise Test comparator for oxygen uptake at Respiratory Compensation point / Ventilatory Threshold 2 (mL/min), will be assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients and Bland-Altman analysis.
Baseline (Day 1-CPET) and IST assessments at Visits 2 and 3, scheduled at 3-7-day intervals.
Between-method agreement in Peak Oxygen Uptake (VO2peak)
Tidsramme: Baseline (Day 1-CPET) and IST assessments at Visits 2 and 3, scheduled at 3-7-day intervals.
Peak oxygen uptake will be defined as the highest 30-second rolling average value recorded prior to test termination.
Baseline (Day 1-CPET) and IST assessments at Visits 2 and 3, scheduled at 3-7-day intervals.

Sekundære resultatmål

Resultatmål
Foranstaltningsbeskrivelse
Tidsramme
Test-retest reliability of oxygen uptake at Anaerobic Threshold (AT)
Tidsramme: (Day 3-IST Visit 2) and IST Visit 3, scheduled 3-7 days apart.
Test-retest reliability of oxygen uptake at AT (mL/min) derived from the Incremental Step Test (IST) between the first and second IST visits.
(Day 3-IST Visit 2) and IST Visit 3, scheduled 3-7 days apart.
Test-retest reliability of oxygen uptake at Respiratory compensation point (RCP)
Tidsramme: (Day 3-IST Visit 2) and IST Visit 3, scheduled 3-7 days apart.
Test-retest reliability of oxygen uptake at RCP (mL/min) derived from the Incremental Step Test (IST) between the first and second IST visits.
(Day 3-IST Visit 2) and IST Visit 3, scheduled 3-7 days apart.

Samarbejdspartnere og efterforskere

Det er her, du vil finde personer og organisationer, der er involveret i denne undersøgelse.

Sponsor

Heriot-Watt University

Efterforskere

  • Ledende efterforsker: David King, BSc, MSc, PhD, Heriot-Watt University

Datoer for undersøgelser

Disse datoer sporer fremskridtene for indsendelser af undersøgelsesrekord og resumeresultater til ClinicalTrials.gov. Studieregistreringer og rapporterede resultater gennemgås af National Library of Medicine (NLM) for at sikre, at de opfylder specifikke kvalitetskontrolstandarder, før de offentliggøres på den offentlige hjemmeside.

Studer store datoer

Studiestart (Faktiske)

20. juli 2026

Primær færdiggørelse (Anslået)

30. september 2026

Studieafslutning (Anslået)

30. oktober 2026

Datoer for studieregistrering

Først indsendt

8. september 2026

Først indsendt, der opfyldte QC-kriterier

14. september 2026

Først opslået (Faktiske)

18. september 2026

Opdateringer af undersøgelsesjournaler

Sidste opdatering sendt (Faktiske)

18. september 2026

Sidste opdatering indsendt, der opfyldte kvalitetskontrolkriterier

14. september 2026

Sidst verificeret

1. september 2026

Mere information

Begreber relateret til denne undersøgelse

Nøgleord

Yderligere relevante MeSH-vilkår

Andre undersøgelses-id-numre

  • Ref: 2025-12928-16897

Plan for individuelle deltagerdata (IPD)

Planlægger du at dele individuelle deltagerdata (IPD)?

INGEN

IPD-planbeskrivelse

No individual participant data will be shared publicly. The study will report findings using aggregated and de-identified data. Individual participant data will be retained securely by the research team in accordance with Heriot-Watt University research governance and data protection requirements.

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