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The Maugeri daily activity profile: a tool to assess physical activity in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Elisabetta Zampogna, Giorgio Bertolotti, Nicolino Ambrosino, Giuseppe Lo Bello, Francesca Cherubino, Alessandra Ianni, Mara Paneroni, Patrizia Pignatti, Dina Visca, Andrea Zanini, Andrea Giordano

Thematic Area
Organization of national health service, Rehabilitation paths, Rehabilitation structures, Patients’ perspective
Summary
Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) report reduced physical activity (PA). There are only few tools available to assess PA and sedentary behavior in these patients, and none of them aims to differentiate between sedentary and active patterns. The aim of the study was to evaluate an easy tool to profile daily activity time in a cohort of patients with COPD, compared to healthy subjects; the study was set at the Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri (ICS), IRCCS of Tradate and Lumezzane, Italy, and at the Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale Novaggio, Switzerland (Italian Speaking). The populations were inpatients with COPD, healthy subjects. The items of the Maugeri Daily Activity (MaDA) profile were chosen based on literature, interviews with patients and health professionals. Time spent during sleep (ST), when awake (AT), active (ACT) or in sedentary behavior (SET) were recorded. Lung function tests, arterial blood gases, the modified Medical Research Council (mMRC), the six-minute walking distance test (6MWD), the COPD Assessment Test (CAT), and the body-mass index, airflow obstruction, dyspnea, and exercise capacity (BODE) index were also assessed in patients. Sixty patients with COPD and 60 healthy controls filled in the questionnaire. As compared to controls, patients showed longer AT and SET. Active time of patients was significantly correlated with mMRC, CAT, Bode Index and 6MWD, but not with demographics, anthropometrics or stages of disease. Using this tool, we found that patients with COPD spent longer time awake and in sedentary behavior. The MaDA may be useful to evaluate PA in patients with COPD.
Relevance
Several methods are able to measure the amount of PA. These instrumental assessments require dedicated equipment which provide different information. Some of those are inexpensive and easy to use. Today, they are not regularly used to evaluate the usual PA of COPD subjects. A profiling tool, able to differentiate sedentary or active paterns, could allow to acquire useful information to identify and customise the optimal components of the rehabilitation. This study is a tool to profile daily activity time in a cohort of COPD patients, compared to heathy subjects.
DOI
doi: 10.4081/monaldi.2021.1680
Keywords