TY - JOUR T1 - Physical activity impairment in depressed COPD patients JF - Respiratory Care DO - 10.4187/respcare.02848 SP - respcare.02848 AU - Fabiano Di Marco AU - Silvia Terraneo AU - Maria Adelaide Roggi AU - Alice Repossi AU - Giulia M Pellegrino AU - Veronelli Anna AU - Pierachille Santus AU - Antonio E Pontiroli AU - Stefano Centanni Y1 - 2013/11/12 UR - http://rc.rcjournal.com/content/early/2013/11/12/respcare.02848.abstract N2 - Introduction Limited exercise tolerance is a cardinal clinical feature in COPD. Depression and COPD share some clinical features, such as reduced physical activity and impaired nutritional status. The aim of the present study was to evaluate maximal and daily physical activity, and the nutritional status of COPD patients affected or not by depression. Methods: In 70 COPD outpatients daily and maximal physical activity were assessed by multisensor accelerometer armband, six-minute walking test and cardiopulmonary exercise test. Mental status, metabolic/muscular status, and systemic inflammation were evaluated through Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale, bioelectrical impedance analysis, and fibrinogen/C-reactive protein, respectively. Results: Depressed patients (27% of the sample) showed a similar level of respiratory functional impairment, but a higher level of shortness of breath and a worse quality of life compared to non depressed patients (P<0.05). Specifically, they displayed a physical activity impairment consisting in a reduced number of steps per day, a lower peak of oxygen consumption, an early anaerobic threshold, and a reduced distance in the six minute walking test (P<0.05), but the same nutritional status compared to non depressed patients. In the multivariate analysis, a reduced breathing reserve, obesity, and a higher level of shortness of breath, but not depression, were found to be independent factors associated with a reduced daily number of steps. Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that depressed COPD patients have a reduced daily and maximal exercise capacity compared to non depressed patients. This further remarks the potential utility of screening for depression in COPD. ER -