BackgroundLittle is known regarding the relationship between balance impairments and physical activity in COPD. There has been no study investigating the relationship between balance and objectively measured physical activity. Here we investigated the association between balance and physical activity measured by an activity monitor in elderly COPD patients.Materials and methodsTwenty-two outpatients with COPD (mean age, 72±7 years; forced expiratory volume in 1 second, 53%±21% predicted) and 13 age-matched healthy control subjects (mean age, 72±6 years) participated in the study. We assessed all 35 subjects’ balance (one-leg standing test [OLST] times, Short Physical Performance Battery total scores, standing balance test scores, 4 m gait speed, and five-times sit-to-stand test [5STST]) and physical activity (daily steps and time spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per day [MV-PA]). Possible confounders were assessed in the COPD group. The between-group differences in balance test scores and physical activity were analyzed. A correlation analysis and multivariate regression analysis were conducted in the COPD group.ResultsThe COPD patients exhibited significant reductions in OLST times (P=0.033), Short Physical Performance Battery scores (P=0.013), 4 m gait speed (P<0.001), five-times sit-to-stand times (P=0.002), daily steps (P=0.003), and MV-PA (P=0.022) compared to the controls; the exception was the standing balance test scores. The correlation and multivariate regression analyses revealed significant independent associations between OLST times and daily steps (P<0.001) and between OLST times and MV-PA (P=0.014) in the COPD group after adjusting for possible confounding factors.ConclusionImpairments in balance and reductions in physical activity were observed in the COPD group. Deficits in balance are independently associated with physical inactivity.

Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is a non-pharmacologic therapy that has emerged as a standard of care for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It is a comprehensive, multidisciplinary, patient-centered intervention that includes patient assessment, exercise training, self-management education, and psychosocial support. PR is usually given in inpatient, outpatient, community-based or home-based setting lasting 8-12 weeks. Positive outcomes from PR include increased exercise tolerance, reduced dyspnea and anxiety, increased selfefficacy, and improvement in health-related quality of life (QoL). Hospital admissions after exacerbations of COPD are also reduced with this intervention. The positive outcomes associated with PR are realized without demonstrable improvements in lung function. This paradox is explained by the fact that PR identifies and treats the systemic effects of the disease. This intervention should be considered in patients who remain symptomatic or have decreased functional status despite optimal medical management. Physical activity in patients with COPD is dependent on many factors, including physiologic, behavioral, social, environmental, and cultural factors. A strong inverse association between daily physical activity and dynamic hyperinflation, which correlates strongly with exertional dyspnea in COPD. Changing physical activity behavior inpatients with COPD needs an interdisciplinary approach, bringing together respiratory medicine, rehabilitation sciences, social sciences, and behavioral sciences. There is a need for more education and learning opportunities for primary care physicians, nurse practitioners, and all allied health care professionals about the process and benefits of PR. There is also a need for the sustainability and the safety of PR in the future study.

This study suggested a close relationship between the NSpO and the contractile capability of the diaphragm assessed by ultrasonography in COPD. The %ΔTdi combined with PaO might predict NSpO in COPD patients with mild or no daytime hypoxaemia.

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