Influence of Restrictive Ventilation Impairment on Physical Function and Activities of Homebound Elderly Persons

Abstract

Background: Examinations of respiratory function and respiratory muscle strength are evaluation methods for stamina factors, but instantaneous ability evaluation is disproportionately emphasized in evaluations of elderly persons. Methods: The participants were 290 persons who were capable of undergoing respiratory examinations. The participants were firstly divided into two groups; 42 persons in a normal group (percentage of forced vital capacity ≥80%) and 42 patients in a restrictive group (percentage of forced vital capacity <80%). The participants were then subcategorized into three groups; 21 participants were randomly selected from the normal group (normal-1), 20 regularly exercising restrictive participants were assigned to a restrictive training group (RTG), and 22 participants who did not exercise were assigned to a restrictive nontraining group (RNTG). The measured parameters were respiratory function, cognitive function, spinal alignment, muscle strength, skeletal muscle volume, gait evaluation, subjective feelings of life, and active ability. Results: Six-minute walk test was significantly lower in the restrictive group compared with the normal group (p<0.05). Walking time of the 10-m obstruction course in the normal-1 group differed significantly from the RTG (p<0.05) and RNTG (p<0.01). Highest walking speed, Timed Up and Go test, and 6-minute walk test did not significantly differ between the normal-1 group and RTG, but significant differences were observed between the normal-1 group and RNTG (p<0.01, p<0.05, and p<0.05, respectively). Conclusions: Although patients with restrictive ventilation impairment were unlikely to be aware of their disorder, degradation in systemic stamina had already commenced. It appears that maintaining exercise habits prevented degradation of not only instantaneous walking ability but also of systemic stamina.

Keywords

• aging
• homebound persons
• physical fitness
• respiratory function tests