Baseline characteristics of the study group (n=201)
| Pulmonary rehabilitation (N=132) | Bronchodilation (N=69) | p Value | |
| Males/females, n | 75/57 | 51/18 | 0.015* |
| Age, years | 68±11 (41–86) | 65±7 (51–80) | 0.02 |
| BMI, kg/m2 | 27±6 (15–50) | 27±5 (18–43) | 0.96 |
| FEV1, litres | 1.19±0.56 (0.41–2.93) | 1.36±0.47 (0.64–2.46) | 0.02 |
| FEV1, % predicted | 48±22 (9–125) | 50±12 (24–78) | 0.35 |
| FVC, litres | 2.39±0.88 (1.02–5.25) | 3.10±0.99 (1.28–6.12) | <0.0001 |
| FEV1/FVC, % | 50±17 (23–105) | 44±10 (26–65) | 0.05 |
| ISWT distance, m | 203±129 (20–650) | 483±148 (190–790) | <0.0001 |
| ESWT | |||
| Distance, m | 219±200 (0–2000) | 636±366 (160–2010) | <0.0001 |
| Time, s | 230±178 (15–1200) | 484±223 (192–1272) | <0.0001 |
| Speed (/ms)* | 0.89±0.31 (0.42–1.67) | 1.24±0.18 (0.84–1.58) | <0.0001 |
BMI, body mass index; ESWT, endurance shuttle walking test; FEV1, forced expiratory volume in 1 s; FVC, forced vital capacity; ISWT, incremental shuttle walking test.
Values are mean±SD (range).
↵* Two-tailed Fisher test.