Normative Reference Values and International Comparisons for the 20-Metre Shuttle Run Test: Analysis of 69,960 Test Results among Chinese Children and Youth.

There is increasing evidence that cardiorespiratory endurance (CRE) is declining among Chinese children and youth. The 20-meter shuttle run test (20-m SRT) is considered the most effective and widely used field-based measurement of CRE for children and youth worldwide. However, there have been few attempts to set 20-m SRT norms for Chinese children and youth. We aimed to develop sex- and age-specific 20-m SRT norms for Chinese children and youth, and compare them with international standards. Participants were 69,960 healthy children and youth aged 917 years from six geographical areas of China, selected using a stratified cluster random sampling method. Sex- and age-specific 20-m SRT percentiles and curves were extracted for four common 20-m SRT metrics (laps, completed stages/minutes, speed at the last complete stage, estimated peak oxygen uptake). We also estimated the prevalence of healthy CRE according to the interim international cut-points (42 mL.kg-1min-1 for boys, 35 mL⋅kg⋅¹min-1 for girls). Chinese boys consistently outperformed girls, while more girls (86.4%) exhibited healthy CRE than boys (67.1%). Younger children and youth were more likely to meet the standards compared with the older, regardless of sex. Chinese children and youth underperformed international norms by 0.85% for boys and 3.1% for girls. The performance indicator (z-score) of Chinese children and youth was -0.01, indicating that 20-m SRT performance was worse than the international mean. The sex differences were also higher for international than Chinese students. This study provided national sex- and age-specific 20-m SRT Chinese norms, offering a valuable tool for screening, monitoring and identifying target groups for future interventions and early prevention of cardiovascular risk factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]