Monitoring of physical activity using accelerometry in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

The main objective of the study was to analyze the characteristics of physical activity in people with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Secondarily, the association between the number of steps per day and the baseline sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of the sample was evaluated.

A multicenter longitudinal descriptive study was carried out in four Primary Care centers in Madrid. The participants were 80 people diagnosed with COPD. In a face-to-face interview, sociodemographic information and clinical characteristics were collected. Physical activity was measured over a week with a three-axis accelerometer that recorded wear time, number of steps per day, walking time, and time spent performing light, moderate, vigorous, and very vigorous physical activity.

The average time of use of the accelerometer was 6.84 ± 0.4 days. The number of daily steps taken was 6902.24 ± 3994.01 with a walking time of 78.07 ± 41.85 min/day. The time of light physical activity was 69.66 ± 46.42 min/day, of moderate activity 92.76 ± 42.91 min/day, of vigorous activity 9.93 ± 13.6 min/day and of very active activity vigorous 0.26 ± 0.64 min/day.

The participants mainly carried out physical activity of light and moderate intensity, complying with current recommendations, while the time dedicated to vigorous and very vigorous activities was reduced and was insufficient.