title: Long-term effectiveness of an inpatient pulmonary rehabilitation program for elderly COPD patients: comparison between young-elderly and old-elderly groups.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the long-term effects of pulmonary rehabilitation in elderly COPD patients, we monitored patients for 1 year after they completed a 2-week inpatient pulmonary rehabilitation program. We also compared the effects of pulmonary rehabilitation on young-elderly (age 65-74 years) and old-elderly (age 75 years or over) COPD patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-nine elderly COPD patients (mean age 72.8 years) were studied. They underwent a comprehensive 2-week inpatient pulmonary rehabilitation program incorporating 10 exercise sessions, each of which included endurance training of the lower extremities, peripheral muscle conditioning training of the upper and lower extremities, and stretching, along with various education sessions. The effects of pulmonary rehabilitation were evaluated at 3, 6, and 12 months after completion of the program.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, patient health-related quality of life (HRQoL) as assessed by a QoL scale, and dyspnoea as assessed by an oxygen cost diagram, improved significantly over the 12-month period. Exercise capacity assessed by a 6-min walking distance test (6MWD) was similarly significantly improved. However, there was some fall-off in terms of the distance walked 12 months after pulmonary rehabilitation. The improvements in exercise capacity, dyspnoea, and HRQoL did not differ between the two groups, with the exception that the 6MWD (P < 0.01) and the QoL scale (P < 0.05) at 3 months post-pulmonary rehabilitation were significantly higher in the old-elderly group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Pulmonary rehabilitation is an effective treatment in terms of improving dyspnoea, exercise capacity and HRQoL in elderly COPD patients, and the benefits are almost comparable for young-elderly and old-elderly patients.
authors.affiliation: Pulmonary Division, and Rehabilitation Division, Tokyo Metropolitan Geriatric Medical Center, Tokyo, Japan. katsurah@saikuri.org
authors.forename: Hideki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Katsura
authors.forename: Akiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kanemaru
authors.forename: Kouichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Motegi
authors.forename: Ritsuko
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wakabayashi
authors.forename: Kozui
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kida
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D004417:Dyspnea / Q000628:therapy; D017079:Exercise Tolerance; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D011788:Quality of Life; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D016896:Treatment Outcome