The Risk of Falling in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

What Daily Activities Increase the Risk of Falling in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients?

This cross-sectional study aims to investigate what daily activities increase the risk of falling in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease patients (COPD).

To investigate the what daily activities increase the risk of falling in patients with COPD, twenty-eight voluntary patients with COPD, aged between 35-80 years will be divided into two groups: Group-1 have at least one fall (fallers) and Group-2 have no history of falls (non-fallers). Fall frequency will be investigated by asking patients to report any fall event in the last one month and the last 12-months. Assessments will be performed at baseline. Fear of falling will be assessed with Activities-Specific Balance Confidence (ABC) scale. Balance will be evaluated by Berg Balance Scale (BBS). The level of dyspnea during daily activities will be assessed with London Chest Activity of Daily Living (LCADL) scale. The global impacts of COPD symptoms on overall health status will be evaluated by The COPD Assessment Test (CAT). The Modified Medical Research Council Dyspnea (MMRC) scale and Six-Minute Walking Test (6MWT) will be used for evaluating the how dyspnea limits the patients' daily activities and functional capacity, respectively. Isometric muscle strength will be measured with a handheld dynamometer of quadriceps femoris. Pulmonary function data will be retrieved from the last 1-month clinical records of the COPD patients. Statistical analysis will be performed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21.0. Among the groups, demographic and clinical variables will be compared with independent sample t-test for continuous variables and a chi-square test for categorical variables. The significance level will be set as p<0.05.

Inclusion Criteria:

1. stable disease (no severe exacerbations in the prior 3 months)
2. ability to walk independently
3. ability to read and write in Turkish
4. able to follow simple instructions
5. no pathology in visual ability and hearing

Exclusion Criteria:

1. a history of specific balance problems (i.e., diagnosed vestibular or neurological disorder)
2. severe musculoskeletal, neurological or cardiovascular disorders that limit mobility
3. use of medication(s) that may increase the risk of falls
4. participate in pulmonary rehabilitation in the lasts six months