ASTHMA AND EXERCISE IN THE ELDERLY

Abstract

Participation in regular physical activity, with the goal of enhancing functional ability and fitness, is associated with measurable health-enhancing and psychologic benefits. Various types of exercise are now actively prescribed by the medical community for the prevention and treatment of a number of diseases. 66 Obstructive pulmonary disease, including both chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma, is a significant cause of functional disability in older adults that is often characterized clinically by progressive breathlessness and increasing physical limitations. Whether exercise training improves aerobic capacity in elderly COPD patients and, in some cases, those with reactive airway disease, still remains unclear. 100 Earlier studies failed to demonstrate this effect, but more recent investigations 40 , 51 using higher levels of intensity or longer duration of training appear to improve functional capacity in older patients with moderate obstructive lung disease (Table 1) . In this article we examine how asthma, or reactive airflow obstruction, alters physical capacity and human performance in the elderly, and the role of exercise training in the management of reactive airways disease among older patients.