Author:

Keywords:

Science & Technology, Life Sciences & Biomedicine, Medicine, General & Internal, General & Internal Medicine, OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY-DISEASE, RESPIRATORY SOCIETY STATEMENT, ACTIVITY COUNSELING PROGRAM, POPULATION-BASED COHORT, CONTROLLED-TRIAL, LUNG HYPERINFLATION, FUNCTIONAL PERFORMANCE, MAINTENANCE THERAPY, REHABILITATION, TIOTROPIUM, Adult, Aged, Australia, Bronchodilator Agents, Canada, Combined Modality Therapy, Double-Blind Method, Europe, Exercise Test, Exercise Therapy, Exercise Tolerance, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Multivariate Analysis, New Zealand, Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive, Quality of Life, Regression Analysis, Research Design, Self Care, Treatment Outcome, United States, Walking, 1103 Clinical Sciences, 1117 Public Health and Health Services, 1199 Other Medical and Health Sciences, 32 Biomedical and clinical sciences, 42 Health sciences, 52 Psychology

Abstract:

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with exercise limitation and physical inactivity, which are believed to have significant long-term negative health consequences for patients. While a number of COPD treatments and exercise training programmes increase exercise capacity, there is limited evidence for their effects on physical activity levels, with no clear association between exercise capacity and physical activity in clinical trials. Physical activity depends on a number of behaviour, environmental and physiological factors. We describe the design of the PHYSACTO trial, which is investigating the effects of bronchodilators, either alone or with exercise training, in combination with a standardised behaviour-change self-management programme, on exercise capacity and physical activity in patients with COPD. It is hypothesised that bronchodilators in conjunction with a behaviour-change self-management programme will improve physical activity and that this effect will be amplified by the addition of exercise training.