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

14 de septiembre de 2026 actualizado por: 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.

Descripción general del estudio

Estado

Inscripción por invitación

Condiciones

Intervención / Tratamiento

Descripción detallada

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.

Tipo de estudio

Intervencionista

Inscripción (Estimado)

30

Fase

  • No aplica

Contactos y Ubicaciones

Esta sección proporciona los datos de contacto de quienes realizan el estudio e información sobre dónde se lleva a cabo este estudio.

Ubicaciones de estudio

  • Reino Unido
      • Edinburgh, Reino Unido, EH14 4AS
        • Oriam Scotlant Performance Centre

Criterios de participación

Los investigadores buscan personas que se ajusten a una determinada descripción, denominada criterio de elegibilidad. Algunos ejemplos de estos criterios son el estado de salud general de una persona o tratamientos previos.

Criterio de elegibilidad

Edades elegibles para estudiar

  • Adulto

Acepta Voluntarios Saludables

Sí

Descripción

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.

    -

Plan de estudios

Esta sección proporciona detalles del plan de estudio, incluido cómo está diseñado el estudio y qué mide el estudio.

¿Cómo está diseñado el estudio?

Detalles de diseño

  • Propósito principal: Diagnóstico
  • Asignación: N / A
  • Modelo Intervencionista: Asignación de un solo grupo
  • Enmascaramiento: Ninguno (etiqueta abierta)

Armas e Intervenciones

Grupo de participantes/brazo
Intervención / Tratamiento
Experimental: 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.
Prueba de diagnóstico: 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
Prueba de diagnóstico: 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.

¿Qué mide el estudio?

Medidas de resultado primarias

Medida de resultado
Medida Descripción
Periodo de tiempo
Between-method agreement in oxygen uptake at Anaerobic Threshold (AT)
Periodo de tiempo: 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)
Periodo de tiempo: 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)
Periodo de tiempo: 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.

Medidas de resultado secundarias

Medida de resultado
Medida Descripción
Periodo de tiempo
Test-retest reliability of oxygen uptake at Anaerobic Threshold (AT)
Periodo de tiempo: (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)
Periodo de tiempo: (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.

Colaboradores e Investigadores

Aquí es donde encontrará personas y organizaciones involucradas en este estudio.

Patrocinador

Heriot-Watt University

Investigadores

  • Investigador principal: David King, BSc, MSc, PhD, Heriot-Watt University

Fechas de registro del estudio

Estas fechas rastrean el progreso del registro del estudio y los envíos de resultados resumidos a ClinicalTrials.gov. Los registros del estudio y los resultados informados son revisados ​​por la Biblioteca Nacional de Medicina (NLM) para asegurarse de que cumplan con los estándares de control de calidad específicos antes de publicarlos en el sitio web público.

Fechas importantes del estudio

Inicio del estudio (Actual)

20 de julio de 2026

Finalización primaria (Estimado)

30 de septiembre de 2026

Finalización del estudio (Estimado)

30 de octubre de 2026

Fechas de registro del estudio

Enviado por primera vez

8 de septiembre de 2026

Primero enviado que cumplió con los criterios de control de calidad

14 de septiembre de 2026

Publicado por primera vez (Actual)

18 de septiembre de 2026

Actualizaciones de registros de estudio

Última actualización publicada (Actual)

18 de septiembre de 2026

Última actualización enviada que cumplió con los criterios de control de calidad

14 de septiembre de 2026

Última verificación

1 de septiembre de 2026

Más información

Términos relacionados con este estudio

Palabras clave

Términos MeSH relevantes adicionales

Otros números de identificación del estudio

  • Ref: 2025-12928-16897

Plan de datos de participantes individuales (IPD)

¿Planea compartir datos de participantes individuales (IPD)?

NO

Descripción del plan IPD

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.

Información sobre medicamentos y dispositivos, documentos del estudio

Estudia un producto farmacéutico regulado por la FDA de EE. UU.

No

Estudia un producto de dispositivo regulado por la FDA de EE. UU.

No

Esta información se obtuvo directamente del sitio web clinicaltrials.gov sin cambios. Si tiene alguna solicitud para cambiar, eliminar o actualizar los detalles de su estudio, comuníquese con register@clinicaltrials.gov. Tan pronto como se implemente un cambio en clinicaltrials.gov, también se actualizará automáticamente en nuestro sitio web. .

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