Physical Activity, Spirometry and Quality-of-Life in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Figures & data

Table 1. Characteristics of the study participants

	Males (n = 74)	Females (n = 50)
Age (years)
50–59	8	18
60–69	34	36
70–79	47	36
80–89	11	10
Occupational status
Retired	96	94
Employed	4	6
Marital status
Married	60	36
Widowed	23	52
Separated/divorced	8	12
Never married	9	0
Body Mass Index (Kg/m^2)
< 20	15	22
20–25	31	34
> 25	54	44
Smoking history (pack years)
< 20	7	8
20–40	19	26
41–60	30	38
61–80	22	20
> 80	22	4
Current smokers	26	38
Participation in a cardio-pulmonary rehabilitation program	18	44
Acute interventions for COPD in the preceding 12 months
Antibiotic use	57	68
Short course of oral corticosteroids	30	44
Treatment at a hospital emergency department	15	16
Hospitalization	27	32
Duration of symptoms (yrs)
Cough	5 (20.0)	1 (10.5)
Phlegm	3.5 (12.5)	3 (10.0)
Dyspnea	8 (9.3)	6.5 (9.0)

Data are presented as percentages, except duration of symptoms, which are presented as median (Inter-Quartile Range).

Figure 1. Median number of steps per day.

Table 2. Comparison of clinical characteristics and outcome variables for subjects who participated in additional, non-walking activities and those who did not participate in additional, non-walking activities

	Participation in non-walking activities (n = 65)	No participation in non-walking activities (n = 59)
Age yrs	69± 8	72± 8
Steps/day	3,752 (3,288)	3,661 (4,952)
Gender %
Males	42	79
Females	58	21
Pack years	55± 25	59± 34
Current smokers %	27	35
Participation in a rehabilitation program %	38	17
FEV1 % pred	46± 16	45± 16
SGRQ
Total	47± 18	48± 20
Symptoms	62± 22	62± 21
Activity	64± 22	65± 24
Impacts	32± 18	34± 21

FEV₁: forced expiratory volume in one second.; % pred:percentage of predicted value; SGRQ: St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire. Data presented as mean ± SD or median (IQR), unless otherwise indicated.

Table 3. Spirometry and quality-of-life measurements

	Males (n = 74)	Females (n = 50)
FEV1	1.19± 0.46	0.88± 0.33
FVC	2.26± 0.86	1.67± 0.47
FEV1 % predicted	44.5± 14.9	47.5± 17.4
FEV1/FVC	55± 14.8	52.3± 13.6
SGRQ
Symptoms	62± 23	62± 20
Activity	66± 23	63± 23
Impacts	34± 21	33± 20
Total	48± 20	47± 17

Data are presented as mean ± SD. FEV₁: forced expiratory volume in 1 second; FVC: forced vital capacity; SGRQ: St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire.

Table 4. Associations of physical activity (steps/day) with spirometry and the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire score

	Associations with steps per day (Pearson correlation coefficient)
	Males (n = 74)	Females (n = 50)
FEV1 % predicted	0.43	0.43^†
FEV1/FVC	0.13	0.28
SGRQ:
Total	−0.30^†	−0.22
Symptoms	−0.23^‡	−0.21
Activity	−0.28^‡	−0.29^‡
Impacts	−0.27^‡	−0.13

FEV₁: forced expiratory volume in one second; FVC: forced vital capacity; SGRQ: St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire.

*p < 0.001;

^† p < 0.01;

^‡ p < 0.05.