Acute Effects of Exercise on Cognition in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

• Published in: American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine Vol. 164; no. 9; pp. 1624 - 1627
• Main Authors: EMERY, CHARLES F, HONN, VANESSA J, FRID, DAVID J, LEBOWITZ, KIM R, DIAZ, PHILIP T
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Am Thoracic Soc 01-11-2001; American Lung Association
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Analysis of Variance; Biological and medical sciences; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma; Cognition Disorders - etiology; Cognition Disorders - prevention & control; Diseases of the respiratory system; Exercise; Female; Humans; Least-Squares Analysis; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Pneumology; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive - complications; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive - rehabilitation; Radiotherapy. Instrumental treatment. Physiotherapy. Reeducation. Rehabilitation, orthophony, crenotherapy. Diet therapy and various other treatments (general aspects); Videotape Recording; Human; Physical exercise; Lung disease; Chronic; Respiratory disease; Bronchus disease; Adult; Psychometrics; Cognition; Obstructive pulmonary disease; Elderly
• ISSN: 1073-449X; 1535-4970
• DOI: 10.1164/ajrccm.164.9.2104137

Prior data indicate positive effects of long-term exercise interventions for cognitive functioning among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but no prior studies have examined acute effects of individual bouts of exercise among patients with COPD. This study evaluated acute effects of exercise on cognitive performance in a community-based sample of patients with COPD and a healthy control group, matched by age, sex, and education. Twenty-nine older adults with COPD (mean age = 67.8 yr [+/- 7.4]; range: 56-85; 17 women) and 29 matched healthy control subjects (mean age = 68.7 yr [+/- 6.0] ) were recruited from the community. All participants completed a 20-min exercise session in which they exercised to a peak level and a video control condition in which they were provided information about exercise and cholesterol. Conditions were separated by a 1-wk interval, and order of participation in conditions was randomly assigned. Assessments of cognitive performance (Trail Making Test, Digit Symbol, Verbal Fluency, Digit Span, Finger Tapping) were administered before and after each condition (exercise and video). Among patients with COPD, acute exercise was associated with improved performance on the Verbal Fluency test, a measure of verbal processing, suggesting that acute exercise may benefit aspects of cognitive performance among patients with COPD.