The effect of 6 month aerobic exercise on respiratory function in older adults with chronic obstructive lung disease

The Effect Of Six Month Aerobic Exercise On Respiratory Function In OlderAdults With Chronic Obstructive Lung DiseaseÖzgür NALBANTABSTRACTAIM:The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of aerobic exercise onpulmonary functions, functional capacity and anthropometrics characteristics in theelderly people with COLD.MATERIAL AND METHOD:Twenty nine older individualswith COLD-who had Physical Function Scale score ≥14 and Modified StandardizedMini Mental Test score ≥24, had no contraindication for training and who werevolunteer-selected and were randomly assigned to an exercise group(EG) and controlgroup(CG).6 month training programme consisted of 3 sessions of walking(11-14Perceived Exertion Level),respiratory exercises and stretching. Body mass index, %fat,fat free mass (FFM),total body water,waist/hip ratio,forced vital capacity(FVC),forcedexpiration volume in one second(FEV1), midportion of forced vital capacity (FEF25-75),peak expiratuar flow rate(PEFR),chair stand,arm curl,handgrip,chair sit-and-reach,back scratch,8-ft up-and-go,6-minute walk performances were measured beforeexercise,on the 3rd month and 6th month of the study.RESULT:When we examinedgroup differences,it was determined that EG had higher values in the chair-stand, lefthand-grip,left chair sit-and-reach,right and left back scratch tests than CG betweenbaseline-3rd month (p<0.005).When compared the differences between baseline- 6thmonth, it was found that EG had higher values in the chair-stand, right and left hand-grip,8-ft up-and-go,left chair sit-and-reach, right and left back scratch (p<0.005),FVC%, FEF25-75% and PEFR% (p<0.01) than CG.CONCLUSION:It was found thatelderly people with COLD,as a result of aerobic training only functional capacityimproved in the first 3rd month period when compared with the control group.At the endof 6th month training, it was found that the strength,agility,flexibility, FVC, FEF25-75%and PEFR% values better in exercised subjects than control subjects.Key words: Chronic obstructive lung disease, Elderly, Aerobic training, Pulmonaryrehabilitation, Physical activity.