title: Respiratory rehabilitation, exercise capacity and quality of life in chronic airways disease in old age.
abstract: Respiratory rehabilitation improves exercise capacity and quality of life in younger patients but is untried in the aged. We aimed to: (a) assess repeatability of the 6-minute walk test, factors affecting it and its relation to quality of life in elderly patients with chronic obstructive airways disease (COAD); (b) assess compliance of such patients with an intensive respiratory rehabilitation protocol; (c) pilot the assessment of the effect of respiratory rehabilitation on the 6-minute walk test in these patients. Seventeen subjects with stable, symptomatic COAD were recruited, 15 (six men), 70-89 (mean 76) years, completed the study. Mean (standard deviation) 1-second forced expiratory volume (FEV1) = 49 (5)% predicted. Six-minute walk tests were repeated single-blind, 2-10 days apart. Quality of life was measured using Guyatt respiratory questionnaire. Patients underwent 12 weeks incremental respiratory rehabilitation (x4/day step-ups, unweighed arm raises, inflating balloons). Baseline 6-minute walk was repeatable and was correlated with the log Guyatt dyspnoea score (r = 0.65, p = 0.006). In multiple regression neither age nor FEV1 predicted walk distance: body mass index, maximal expiratory mouth pressure; calorie intake. Mean (SEM) 6-minute walk distance after-rehabilitation was greater than baseline (p = 0.003). Elderly patients with COAD tolerate intensive respiratory rehabilitation and a controlled, blinded study is needed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Geriatric Medicine, University of Manchester, Barnes Hospital, Kingsway, Cheadle, Cheshire, UK.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Roomi
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Waters
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yohannes
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Helm
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Connolly
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005081:Exercise Therapy; D005260:Female; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D008173:Lung Diseases, Obstructive / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D008297:Male; D010349:Patient Compliance; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016138:Walking