Chest
Clinical InvestigationsPsychological Outcomes of a Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program
Section snippets
Subjects
The study included 64 older adults who volunteered to participate in an outpatient pulmonary rehabilitation program at Duke University Medical Center. Criteria for inclusion in the study were: (1) age =50 years, (2) symptoms for more than six months, and (3) the ***FEV1/FVC ratio <0.70. Participants ranged in age from 53 to 82 years (mean = 67.4 ± 7.0 years), and were approximately evenly distributed by gender (35 male [55 percent], 29 female [45 percent]).
Exercise Rehabilitation Program
Participants attended the program in
Adherence
Of the 64 subjects assessed at time 1, 61 subjects (95 percent) completed the 30-day program. Two females and one male dropped out, leaving 34 males and 27 females with complete data.
Pulmonary Function
Changes in pulmonary function were tested in a MANOVA of three variables: FVC, FEV1 and MVV. The MANOVA indicated a gender main effect (F[3,56] = 14.08, p<0.001) and time main effect (F[3,57] = 10.05, p<0.001), but no interaction effect. Univariate testing indicated that all three measures of pulmonary function
DISCUSSION
These data suggest the efficacy of exercise rehabilitation among both male and female older adults with COPD. Participants in the 30-day exercise rehabilitation program achieved significant improvement in pulmonary function, physical endurance and functional capacity. In addition, participants experienced enhanced psychological well-being, as indicated by reduced affective distress and improved cognitive functioning.
The greater functional and work capacity among males as opposed to females is
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors wish to thank Pamela Allison-Goretzky, Michelle Feldman and LeeAnn Robinson for technical assistance and Janet Ivey for secretarial assistance.
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Manuscript received October 15; revision accepted December 13