The relationships among pulmonary function, aerobic fitness, and cognitive functioning in older COPD patients.
OBJECTIVE
To study the predictive relationships among age, pulmonary function, aerobic fitness, and cognition in people with COPD.


METHODS
Observational study conducted during baseline testing with COPD patients who volunteered to participate in an exercise intervention.


METHODS
Older adults (age, 56 to 80 years) with COPD.


RESULTS
Age, depression, education level, aerobic fitness, blood oxygen saturation levels, and pulmonary function were assessed. Participants were randomly assigned to take cognitive tests of (1) fluid intelligence, (2) processing speed and working memory span, or (3) processing speed and inhibition. After controlling for education and depression (F(2,57) = 7.43; r(2) = 0. 21), performance on the 6-min walk (F(1,56) = 15.27; r(2) = 0.17) and age (F(1,55) = 7.52; r(2) = 0.08) were significant predictors of fluid intelligence. On the speed-of-processing task, performance on the 6-min walk (F(1,30) = 8.17; r(2) = 0.20), maximum voluntary ventilation (F(1,29) = 5.81; r(2) = 0.16), and age (F(1,28) = 5.26; r(2) = 0.10) were significant predictors. FVC was a significant predictor (F(1,25) = 6.37; r(2) = 0.18) of working memory span. The ability to inhibit a response was not significantly predicted by any of the variables assessed.


CONCLUSIONS
In an older COPD sample, age, aerobic fitness, and pulmonary function are predictive of cognitive performance on various tasks. In particular, age and aerobic fitness are predictive of speed of processing, which is a cognitive variable that may itself underlie performance on a majority of cognitive tasks.
Etnier
J
J
Department of Health and Exercise Science, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC. Jennifer.Etnier@ASU.EDU
Johnston
R
R
Dagenbach
D
D
Pollard
R J
RJ
Rejeski
W J
WJ
Berry
M
M
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D005080:Exercise Test; D005260:Female; D005541:Forced Expiratory Volume / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000503:physiopathology; D008173:Lung Diseases, Obstructive / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010809:Physical Fitness / Q000502:physiology*; D011603:Psychophysiology; D012016:Reference Values; D014797:Vital Capacity / Q000502:physiology*