A new study by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) has validated two tools that measure physical activity in patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). The research has been carried out within the PROactive Project of the Innovative Medicine Initiative of the European Union, and has been the result of collaborative work of more than 10 years between multiple entities and associations of patients.
“Measuring physical activity is essential to improving the prognosis of patients with this disease”
Judith Garcia-Aymerich (ISGlobal), first author of the study.
To do it, researchers analyzed data from more than 1,300 COPD patients from 7 randomized trials from 17 countries in North America and Europe, that included responses to questionnaires and monitoring of their physical activity.
Thus, it has been shown that the PPAC (PROactive Physical Activity in COPD) methods are “reliable and valid in all sexes, age groups and severity of COPD”, providing very useful information for the future applicability of these instruments to improve the physical conditions of COPD patients.
Garcia-Aymerich J, et al. Validity and responsiveness of the Daily- and Clinical visit PROactive Physical Activity in COPD (D-PPAC and C-PPAC) instruments. Thorax 2021.
