Muotri Ricardo William, Bernik Marcio Antonini, Neto Francisco Lotufo
Department of Psychiatry, Universidade de Sao Paulo Faculdade de Medicina, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med. 2017 Apr 22;3(1):e000164. doi: 10.1136/bmjsem-2016-000164. eCollection 2017.
The most widely used instrument to measure perceived exertion or exercise intensity is the Borg's Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) Scale. Panic attacks are aversive experiences that may be triggered by bodily sensations such as palpitations, breathlessness or dizziness due to increasing autonomic distress, prior sensitisation to panic and fear conditioning. The consequence is catastrophic interpretation of bodily sensations of arousal in general, which can lead to misinterpretation of exertion or exercise intensity.
To verify the effectiveness of the Borg's RPE Scale as a measure of perceived effort in panic disorder subjects.
The study enrolled 72 subjects: the control group (C, healthy sedentary subjects, n=30) and patients with panic disorder (PD, n=42). All subjects were submitted to an ergospirometry challenge. Perceived exertion RPE scores and heart rate at 90% VO2max were compared between groups.
Patients with PD showed lower levels of maximal oxygen consumption, when compared with C group [VOmax (mL/kg/min): PD=29.42±6.50xC=34.51±5.35; Student's t-test=-3.51; p <0.05]. Furthermore, among PD subjects, the maximum heart rate during ergospirometry challenge was lower than expected [predict max HR (bpm)=200.85±6.33xheart rate test (bpm)=178.86±7.28; Z=-5.64; p<0.05]. Perceived exertion, as measured by RPE, was also overestimated in relation to heart rate at 90% of maximum oxygen consumption compared with controls (RPE90%VOmax: PD=18.93±0.55xC=16.67±0.60; U=8.00; Z=7.42; p<0.05).
The present study findings suggest that the Borg's RPE Scale may not be an appropriate measure of subjective exertion among subjects with panic disorder performing a cardiopulmonary exercise test.
用于测量主观用力程度或运动强度的最广泛使用的工具是伯格主观用力感觉量表（RPE）。惊恐发作是一种令人厌恶的体验，可能由身体感觉引发，如心悸、呼吸急促或头晕，这是由于自主神经应激增加、先前对惊恐的敏感化和恐惧条件作用所致。其后果是对一般身体唤醒感觉的灾难性解读，这可能导致对用力程度或运动强度的错误解读。
验证伯格RPE量表作为惊恐障碍患者主观努力程度测量工具的有效性。
该研究招募了72名受试者：对照组（C，健康久坐不动的受试者，n = 30）和惊恐障碍患者（PD，n = 42）。所有受试者都接受了运动肺功能测试挑战。比较了两组在最大摄氧量90%时的主观用力程度RPE评分和心率。
与C组相比，PD患者的最大摄氧量水平较低[最大摄氧量（mL/kg/min）：PD = 29.42±6.50，C = 34.51±5.35；学生t检验=-3.51；p < 0.05]。此外，在PD受试者中，运动肺功能测试挑战期间的最大心率低于预期[预测最大心率（bpm）= 200.85±6.33，心率测试（bpm）= 178.86±7.28；Z = -5.64；p < 0.05]。与对照组相比，在最大摄氧量90%时，通过RPE测量的主观用力程度相对于心率也被高估（最大摄氧量90%时的RPE：PD = 18.93±0.55，C = 16.67±0.60；U = 8.00；Z = 7.42；p < 0.05）。
本研究结果表明，对于进行心肺运动测试的惊恐障碍患者，伯格RPE量表可能不是主观用力程度的合适测量工具。
