Physical Training and Testing in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

Sammanfattning: The overall aims of the studies were to investigate the effects of different training modalities on exercise capacity and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with moderate or severe COPD and, further, to explore two of the physical tests used in pulmonary rehabilitation.In study I, the 12-minute walking distance (12MWD) did not increase on retesting in patients with exercise-induced hypoxemia (EIH) whereas 12MWD increased significantly on retesting in the non-EIH patients. In study II, we found that the incremental shuttle walking test was as good a predictor of peak exercise capacity (W peak) as peak oxygen uptake (VO2 peak) is. In study III, we investigated the effects of two different combination training programmes when training twice a week for eight weeks. One programme was mainly based on endurance training (group A) and the other on resistance training and callisthenics (group B). W peak and 12MWD increased in group A but not in group B. HRQoL, anxiety and depression were unchanged in both groups. Ratings of perceived exertion at rest were significantly lower in group A than in group B after training and during 12 months of follow-up. Twelve months post-training, 12MWD was back to baseline in group A, but significantly shorter than at baseline in group B. Thus, a short endurance training intervention delayed decline in 12MWD for at least one year. Patients with moderate and severe COPD responded to training in the same way. In study IV, both interval and continuous endurance training increased W peak, VO2 peak, peak exhaled carbon dioxide (VCO2 peak) and 12MWD. Likewise, HRQoL, dyspnoea during activities of daily life, anxiety and depression improved similarly in both groups. At a fixed, submaximal workload (isotime), the interval training reduced oxygen cost and ventilatory demand significantly more than the continuous training did.