Relationship between pulmonary function and unsupported arm exercise in patients with COPD.

Abstract

Statistically significant correlations (r) were found between exercise time and inspiratory capacity (% of predicted) (r = 0.67, p = 0.0008), maximal inspiratory pressure (cmH2O) (r = 0.47, p = 0.03), upper arm circumference (r = 0.74, p = 0.0001), FEV1 (% of predicted) (r = 0.62, p = 0.0026), oxygen uptake (r = 0.56, p = 0.0085) and functional residual capacity (% of predicted) (r = -0.41, p = 0.06, borderline). Inspiratory capacity (% of predicted), functional residual capacity (% of predicted), upper arm circumference (cm) and FEV1 (% of predicted) explained 77% of the variance in exercise time. Therapeutic strategies that aim to increase inspiratory capacity or decrease functional residual capacity, or increase inspiratory muscle strength and upper arm/torso muscle endurance are likely to alleviate symptoms and improve UAE performance in patients with COPD.