De Vos Jacques, Nair Shruti, Mathew Tim, Patel Mehulkumar M, Kaka Manaswini Chowdary
Internal Medicine, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, ZAF.
General Surgery, Lourdes Hospital, Kochi, IND.
Cureus. 2025 Jun 17;17(6):e86206. doi: 10.7759/cureus.86206. eCollection 2025 Jun.
Background Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema and is characterized by persistent airflow limitation. It is caused by long-term exposure to harmful particles or gases, leading to significant breathing difficulties and substantially impacting quality of life. Understanding the complexity and socioeconomic burden of COPD is vital for improving patient outcomes and addressing broader implications. This study assesses the self-reported physical activity levels of COPD patients in the United States using the 2021 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data, exploring the impact of demographic, socioeconomic, and healthcare access variables. Methodology The 2021 BRFSS data were analysed, focusing on 34,061 individuals diagnosed with COPD, emphysema, or chronic bronchitis. Fisher's exact test and the chi-square test were used to examine associations between self-reported physical activity levels and demographic (age, gender, race), socioeconomic (education, employment, income), and healthcare access (last routine check-up) variables, with 95% confidence intervals. Results Of the 435,780 BRFSS participants, 7.8% reported having COPD. Among these, 55% engaged in physical activity compared to 77.4% of non-COPD individuals. Physical activity levels were significantly lower among COPD patients (p < 0.001), with notable variations across age groups, genders, races, education levels, employment statuses, income categories, and time since the last routine check-up. Conclusions The findings reveal a significant disparity in physical activity between COPD patients and non-COPD individuals. These findings highlight the need for targeted interventions to improve physical activity among COPD patients to enhance their health outcomes and quality of life.
背景 慢性阻塞性肺疾病（COPD）包括慢性支气管炎和肺气肿，其特征为持续性气流受限。它是由长期接触有害颗粒或气体引起的，会导致严重的呼吸困难，并对生活质量产生重大影响。了解COPD的复杂性和社会经济负担对于改善患者预后及应对更广泛的影响至关重要。本研究使用2021年行为危险因素监测系统（BRFSS）数据评估了美国COPD患者自我报告的身体活动水平，探讨了人口统计学、社会经济和医疗保健可及性变量的影响。方法 对2021年BRFSS数据进行了分析，重点关注34061名被诊断患有COPD、肺气肿或慢性支气管炎的个体。采用费舍尔精确检验和卡方检验来检验自我报告的身体活动水平与人口统计学（年龄、性别、种族）、社会经济（教育、就业、收入）和医疗保健可及性（上次定期体检）变量之间的关联，并给出95%置信区间。结果 在435780名BRFSS参与者中，7.8%报告患有COPD。其中，55%的人进行身体活动，而非COPD个体的这一比例为77.4%。COPD患者的身体活动水平显著较低（p<0.001），在年龄组、性别、种族、教育水平、就业状况、收入类别以及上次定期体检后的时间等方面存在显著差异。结论 研究结果显示COPD患者与非COPD个体在身体活动方面存在显著差异。这些发现凸显了采取针对性干预措施以提高COPD患者身体活动水平从而改善其健康结局和生活质量的必要性。
