PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE CHANGES IN MALE AND FEMALE PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE(COPD)

Abstract

1831 The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the changes in physical performance in male and female patients with COPD following a twelve-week exercise intervention. The study population included 44 male/female pairs that were matched based on age and severity of disease. Graded exercise tests and physical performance tests were administered prior to and following the 12-week exercise intervention. Significant improvements for both male and female patients were made in the six-minute walk distance (235.9±33.2 and 196.5±20.5 ft, respectively), the time to complete an overhead task (−5.0±2.0 and −3.8±1.7 sec, respectively), and total treadmill time (0.45±0.16 and 0.43±0.16 sec, respectively). The stair climb time significantly improved in the female patients (−0.80±0.30 sec), but it did not significantly improve in the male patients (−0.17±0.31 sec). Additionally, the peak oxygen consumption significantly increased in the male patients (0.77±0.26 ml·kg−1·min−1), but it did not significantly improve in the female patients (0.47±0.16 ml·kg−1·min−1). There were no significant (p > 0.05) differences when comparing the improvements in physical performance made by male patients from baseline to follow-up versus the improvements made by the female patients from baseline to follow-up. The results of this investigation suggest that improvements in physical function occur similarly in male and female COPD patients following a 12-week exercise intervention. Supported NIH HL53755