Opportunities to rehabilitation of multimorbid patients with asthma and obesity

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The challenges of rehabilitation and achieving asthma control in patients with multimorbid conditions remain relevant despite advances in asthma treatment. Improving therapeutic approaches requires not only the development of new drugs, but also the creation of comprehensive individualized rehabilitation programs. AIM: To develop complex rehabilitation programs for patients with asthma and multimorbid diseases (obesity, osteoarthritis) and assess their impact on asthma and comorbid conditions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 70 patients with asthma and obesity were divided into two groups: a rehabilitation group and a control group. The study evaluated external respiration functions, quality of life using Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (standardized), asthma control with Asthma Control Questionnaire-5 (ACQ-5), multimorbid pathology with Cumulative Illness Rating Scale (CIRS), Lequesne index, exercise capacity via 6-minute walk test, physical activity using questionnaire ODA23+, and levels of interleukin-6, interleukin-4, tumor necrosis factor alpha, leptin. RESULTS: Both groups were comparable across all assessed parameters, with most participants presenting moderate to severe asthma. Physical activity levels were low to moderate. The CIRS index was 10.0 ± 1.1 in group 1 and 9.2 ± 1.1 in group 2 (p 0.05), while the Lequesne index was 9.70 ± 1.47 and 8.80 ± 1 (p = 0.3900), respectively. After rehabilitation program, the Lequesne index in the group 1 decreased by 2.37 ± 0.60 (р 0,05), which correlated with improved exercise tolerance (6-minute walk test) and increased physical activity by 6.57 ± 2.00 (р 0.05), and increased asthma control (with ACQ-5 decreasing by 0.74 ± 0.20 points; р 0.05) and quality of life with Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (standardized) 3.8 ± 0.4 to 4.5 ± 0.3 (р 0.05). In group 2, no significant changes were observed in the Lequesne index, physical activity, asthma control, or quality of life (p 0.05). Proinflammatory cytokines, including interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor alpha, and leptin, decreased significantly in group 1, while the control group showed no significant changes. CONCLUSIONS: Multicomponent rehabilitation programs tailored to the individual characteristics of patients with multimorbid conditions contribute to better management of both asthma and comorbidities. Rehabilitation improves asthma control, quality of life, and exercise tolerance. It also helps to reduce pain syndrome, increase physical activity, and decrease proinflammatory cytokines and leptin levels.