Pulmonary rehabilitation response in elderly and younger patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [Pulmoner rehabi·li·tasyonun kroni·k obstrükti·f akci·ger hastaligi olan yaşli ve genç hastalardaki· sonuçlari]

Introduction: Pulmonary rehabilitation has been shown to improve exercise capacity, health status, anxiety and depression in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but the response in younger and elderly patients has not been fully established. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of pulmonary rehabilitation in elderly people. Materials and Method: Younger (?65 years) and older (>65 years) patients with stable COPD underwent an 8 week outpatient pulmonary rehabilitation procedure twice weekly, along with home exercise training. Dyspnea, incremental shuttle walk distance, health status with St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire, anxiety and depression score were assessed before and after pulmonary rehabilitation. A comparison was made between younger and elderly patients. Results: The study group included 109 patients with COPD. There were 52 patients (mean age 58.96±4.63 yrs) in the younger group and 57 patients (mean age 73.58±5.75 yrs) in the elderly one. The increase in walking distance in younger patients was 76.86±93.18m (p<0.0001) and 34.64±60.35m (p