Increased exercise intensity is associated with reduced risk of death in patients with COPD: a study from the 2007-2012 NHANES database

Abstract

Abstract Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common chronic disease, and its harm to people's health is on the rise in recent years. With the increasing incidence and mortality of COPD, its prevention and the care of patients with the disease are becoming increasingly important in order to improve the life expectancy of patients and reduce the mortality rate. COPD patients often do not dare to exercise because of breathing difficulties and weakness, which is not conducive to the maintenance and improvement of their heart and lung function, and will worsen their condition. Our aim was to investigate the association between exercise and the risk of death in patients with COPD. The study included 6,723 participants aged > 40 years with complete data on COPD prevalence and physical activity from the 2007–2012 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Multivariate COX regression analysis was used to establish three model analyses with the exercise intensity of the groups as independent variables, taking full account of various covariates (demographic factors, prevalence of underlying diseases, and detection of biochemical indicators), respectively, to analyze the expected death risk of patients. The restricted cubic spline (RCS) was used to fit the relationship between exercise intensity and the risk of death in COPD patients, and the exercise intensity at critical risk of death was obtained. Our findings suggest that moderate, high-intensity exercise contributes to a reduction in the risk of death in patients with COPD. Within a certain range, the greater the intensity of exercise, the lower the risk of death. These findings suggest that moderate physical activity can be beneficial to the health of people with COPD and can extend their life expectancy, especially if there are underlying conditions. It is necessary for COPD patients to increase their exercise and doctors to give them appropriate exercise guidance and rehabilitation programs.