School of Allied Health, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.
Physical Activity for Health Research Cluster, Health Research Institute, University of Limerick, Ireland.
Physiother Theory Pract. 2022 Dec;38(12):1978-1986. doi: 10.1080/09593985.2021.1907825. Epub 2021 Mar 31.
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) affects up to 440,000 people in Ireland. Multiple domains of biopsychosocial health are affected. Community-based interventions supporting behavioral change and self-management are advocated. The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate the efficacy of an 8-week singing intervention, "SingStrong", to improve biopsychosocial wellness in persons with COPD.
Seventy-eight adults with COPD were recruited from three COPD Support groups in the Irish Mid-west. Pre and post-intervention testing performed by physiotherapy and nursing staff comprised Six-Minute Walk Test (6MWT), COPD Assessment test (CAT), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and Spirometry: FEV1, FVC, FEV1/FVC. The intervention was a weekly one-hour group class for eight weeks led by a trained choir leader at each site. This included physical and vocal warm-up, breathing exercises and singing. Participants were given a songbook based on their song preferences and a CD with vocal, breathing exercises and songs, and encouraged to practice daily. Semi-structured focus groups were conducted post intervention. Parametric or non-parametric t-tests were conducted to establish significance.
Fifty-eight (74%) participants who attended at least 4/8 session were re-tested. There was a statistically significant improvement in 6MWT ( = .02), non-significant improvements in CAT ( = .24) and HADS Depression ( = .238), and non-significant worsening in HADS Anxiety ( = .34). All qualitative feedback was positive, including improvements in breathing, quality of life and intervention enjoyment.
Singing for lung health has positive implications for persons with COPD. Future longer studies should examine outcomes of exacerbation level, hospitalization and medication use.
慢性阻塞性肺疾病（COPD）影响爱尔兰多达 44 万人。多个生物心理社会健康领域受到影响。提倡以社区为基础的干预措施，支持行为改变和自我管理。这项初步研究的目的是评估为期 8 周的歌唱干预“SingStrong”对改善 COPD 患者的生物心理社会健康的疗效。
从爱尔兰中西部的三个 COPD 支持小组中招募了 78 名 COPD 成人患者。由物理治疗师和护理人员进行的干预前后测试包括 6 分钟步行测试（6MWT）、COPD 评估测试（CAT）、医院焦虑和抑郁量表（HADS）和肺活量计：FEV1、FVC、FEV1/FVC。干预措施是每周一次，每次一小时的小组课程，由每个地点的受过培训的合唱团领导者领导。这包括身体和声乐热身、呼吸练习和唱歌。根据他们的歌曲偏好，参与者会收到一本歌曲手册，并收到一张包含声乐、呼吸练习和歌曲的 CD，并鼓励他们每天练习。干预后进行了半结构式焦点小组讨论。进行了参数或非参数 t 检验以确定显著性。
至少参加了 4/8 次课程的 58 名（74%）参与者进行了重新测试。6MWT 有统计学意义的改善（ = 0.02），CAT（ = 0.24）和 HADS 抑郁（ = 0.238）有非显著改善，HADS 焦虑（ = 0.34）有非显著恶化。所有定性反馈均为正面，包括呼吸改善、生活质量和干预享受的改善。
唱歌对肺部健康对 COPD 患者有积极的影响。未来的长期研究应检查恶化水平、住院和药物使用的结果。
