Home physical activity coaching may up physical activity in COPD

(HealthDay)—A home-based health coaching intervention can increase physical activity levels among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to a study published online Dec. 28 in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society.

David B. Coultas, M.D., from Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, and colleagues analyzed the secondary outcomes of a trial in which stable adult outpatients with COPD underwent a six-week self-management education run-in program and were then randomized to 20 weeks of usual care (156 patients) or a telephone-delivered home-based health coaching intervention (149 participants).

The researchers found that the proportion of participants who reported being persistently active over the 18-month follow-up period was greater in the intervention versus the usual care group (73.6 versus 57.8 percent). There was variation in the correlation based on severity of forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV₁) impairment (P for interaction = 0.09). Among those with moderate impairment, patients in the intervention group more often reported being persistently active compared with those receiving usual care (86 versus 65.1 percent). Among patients with severe and very severe FEV₁ impairment, those in the intervention group also reported being persistently active more often than those in usual care (63.3 versus 50.8 percent). Among patients with severe spirometric impairment, the intervention was correlated with a lower rate of lung-related utilization (adjusted rate ratio, 0.38).

"A feasible and generalizable home-based coaching intervention may decrease sedentary behavior and increase physical activity levels," the authors write. "In those with severe COPD, this intervention may reduce lung disease-related health care utilization."