Elsevier

Respiratory Medicine

Volume 99, Issue 6, June 2005, Pages 711-717
Respiratory Medicine

Exercise training raises daily activity stronger than predicted from exercise capacity in patients with COPD

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Summary

The 6-min walking (6 MWD) and 6-min treadmill distance (6 MTD) are often used as measures of exercise performance in patients with COPD. The aim of our study was to assess their relationship to daily activity in the course of an exercise training program.

Eighty-eight patients with stable COPD (71 m/17 f; mean±sd age, 60±8 year; FEV1, 43±14% pred) were recruited, 66 of whom performed a hospital-based 10-day walking training, whereas 22 were treated as control. On day 1 6MTD, and on days 8 and 10, 6 MTD and 6 MWD were determined. In addition, patients used an accelerometer (TriTrac-R3D®) to record 24 h-activity, whereby training sessions were excluded.

In both groups there was a linear relationship (r0.84 and P<0.0001) between 6 MTD and 24 h-activity, the slope of which was 2.5-fold greater in the training group (P<0.01). Similar relationships emerged for 6 MWD. There was no association between baseline 6 MTD, FEV1 or BMI and any of the other measures.

These data suggest that daily activity did not markedly vary with exercise capacity under baseline conditions. Participation in a training program increased activity significantly stronger than predicted from the gain in exercise capacity. This underlines the importance of non-physiological, patient-centered factors associated with training in COPD.

Keywords

COPD
Daily activity
Accelerometer
Motivation
Rehabilitation
6-min treadmill distance
6-min walking distance
Body mass index

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Supported by Landesversicherungsanstalt (LVA)—Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg, vffr Schleswig-Holstein, and NVRF.