Development of the pulmonary rehabilitation program for sarcopenia in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K13076
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Rehabilitation science/Welfare engineering
• Research Institution: Chubu Gakuin University
• Principal Investigator: Mikawa Kotaro 中部学院大学, 看護リハビリテーション学部, 准教授 (20554611)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2020-03-31
• Keywords: 呼吸リハビリテーション / 慢性閉塞性肺疾患 / サルコペニア / 栄養療法

Outline of Final Research Achievements

A survey of prevalence and clinical characteristics of sarcopenia was conducted with 80 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) outpatients at multiple cooperating facilities. The results showed an extremely high prevalence of 30%. COPD patients with sarcopenia were affected by disease severity, physical inactivity, and malnutrition. In addition, this study investigated the effectiveness of combining standard respiratory rehabilitation with nutritional therapy for COPD patients with sarcopenia. Comparisons before and after 12 weeks of respiratory rehabilitation showed that although bodyweight increased, skeletal muscle mass did not. However, because the number of subjects was fewer than the study’s target number, the study will continue in order to gather more data on patient outcome.

Free Research Field

リハビリテーション科学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究の結果，慢性閉塞性肺疾患のサルコペニア患者は，疾患重症度，身体不活動，低栄養すべての要素の影響を受けていた．ただ，患者個々によって，どの要素がどの程度相まっているかは異なることも明らかとなった．この成果は，慢性閉塞性肺疾患のサルコペニア患者における呼吸リハビリテーションプログラムを開発するための基礎データであり，学術的意義は大きいと思われる．今後，我が国の高齢化は急速に進展し，さらに慢性閉塞性肺疾患のサルコペニア患者は増加することが予測され，その患者に対する治療介入を構築することは重要である．