Article

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are often
classified by Medical Research Council (MRC) dyspnea grade and comparisons thus
made to healthy individuals. The MRC grade of a healthy population is assumed to
be grade 1, although this may be inaccurate. Physical activity and exercise
capacity are not well-defined for those with MRC grade 2. This study was
undertaken to establish whether there are differences in physical activity and
exercise capacity between individuals with COPD and healthy controls, who have
all assessed themselves as MRC grade 2. METHODS: Patients with COPD (n = 83) and
19 healthy controls, with a self-selected MRC grade of 2, completed the
Incremental Shuttle Walk Test (ISWT) and wore a SenseWear (BodyMedia, Pittsburgh,
PA) activity monitor for 12 hours for 2 weekdays. RESULTS: Adjusting for age,
step count and ISWT were significantly reduced for those with COPD, compared with
healthy controls (P < .05). Patients with COPD achieved mean (SD) 425.5 (131.3) m
on ISWT and took 6022 (3276) steps per day compared with 647.8 (146.3) m and 9462
(4141) steps per day for healthy controls. For subjects achieving 10 000 steps
per day, 8 (42.11%) healthy controls achieved this level compared with 7 (8.43%)
patients with COPD (P < .01). CONCLUSIONS: Healthy individuals may report
functional limitations and categorize themselves as MRC grade 2. However, despite
both groups subjectively considering themselves similarly functionally limited,
exercise capacity and physical activity were significantly reduced in patients
with COPD compared with healthy participants. This highlights the importance of
early interventions to increase physical performance and prevent functional
decline for patients with COPD.

Langue : ANGLAIS

Tiré à part : OUI