Abstract:

Objective: To evaluated and compare the prevalence of physical activities in asthma and  chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study included 97 patients (44 with COPD and 53 with asthma). Patient’s socio-demographic characteristics and awareness about asthma or COPD were determined. The COPD and asthma patient’s regular exercise habits and level of participation in physical activities were evaluated using the short form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). The Mann-Whitney U test was used for statistical analysis of the variables that did not have normal distribution. Results: The mean age of patients with COPD was 65.3±3.4 years, and their mean body mass index value was 25.8±2.5 kg/m². The mean age of asthmatic patients was 50.7±5.1 years, and their mean body mass index value was 29.2±3.4 kg/m². There was a significant difference between the mean body mass index values of adult asthma and COPD patients (p=0.01). The weekly energy expenditure of patients with COPD due to physical activity was 1564.2±615 MET-min, and it was 2130±842 MET-min for individuals with asthma. In this study, no statistically significant difference was found between the physical activity levels of adult asthma and COPD individuals (p=0.09). Conclusion: This study found the physical activity levels of individuals with adult asthma or COPD to be low. Physical inactivity is known to be a modifiable risk factor for asthma and COPD. Specific programs for this population should be developed so that individuals with COPD and asthma can be more active.

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