Abstract

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients often have a decreased physical activity and increased sedentary behavior. Apart from the numerous benefits of a pulmonary rehabilitation program (PRP), the change in physical activity behavior remains an important issue to investigate. We aimed to describe the evolution of physical activity parameters measured by actimeter after PRP among COPD patients. 

Methods: COPD patients undergoing PRP from different centers in France were included. The measurements of physical activity were obtained using the SenseWear Armband Bodymedia® worn for 1 week at the baseline and the end of PRP. They were validated with at least 3 weekdays of = 8 h recording each day. The exercise capacity was measured by 6-minute walk distance (6MWD) and quality of life (QoL) by St George’s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ). 

Results: 51 COPD patients (Age 63 ± 9 years; FEV1 57 ± 18% pred) were included. After PRP, the number of steps per day increased by 503 ± 1699 (p<0.05), the time spent in light physical activity by 22.3 ± 51.4 min (p=0.003), the SGRQ by -8.7 ± 12.9 (p<0.001), but non significant change in 6MWD by 6 ± 46 m (p=0.170). The weather such as rainfall and daily temperature had an influence on step count and the duration of light physical activity. The seasonal influence was seen on step count with 3916 in spring and 6939 in summer (p<0.05). 

Conclusion: COPD patients improve the physical activity behavior at the end of PRP, notably increasing the duration of light physical activity. This represents an important step towards the decline of sedentary lifestyle, by which the beneficial health effects are obtained.