Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2024 Oct 24;34(1):32.
doi: 10.1038/s41533-024-00394-7.

Short-term effects on physical activity level with web-based self-management support in people with COPD: a randomised controlled trial

Tobias Stenlund  1 , Åsa Karlsson  2 , Per Liv  3 , André Nyberg  2 , Karin Wadell  2
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Short-term effects on physical activity level with web-based self-management support in people with COPD: a randomised controlled trial

Tobias Stenlund et al. NPJ Prim Care Respir Med. .

Abstract

We aimed to evaluate short-term effects of a web-based self-management support on objectively measured physical activity (PA) compared to usual care in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We conducted a pragmatic randomised controlled trial including people with stable COPD within primary healthcare. Participants were randomised to intervention group, IG (access to the COPD Web, an interactive website to support self-management with focus on PA), or to control group, CG (usual care). Primary outcome at 3 months was change in accelerometry-measured daily steps analysed with ANCOVA, and secondary outcomes were self-reported PA, disease-related symptoms, and quality of life. Missing data in intention-to-treat (ITT) analyses were multiply imputed. One hundred and forty-six participants (n = 73/group), mean (SD) age 69.5 (6.7) years, FEV1pred 60.7 (19.1)% were included. The ITT analysis showed no significant difference in steps between the groups: 1295 steps (95% CI: [-365, 2955], p = 0.12), while the complete case analysis (n = 98) revealed a significant difference of 1492 steps (95% CI: [374, 2609], p = 0.01) in favour of IG. A significant increase in self-reported PA was seen in IG in both the ITT and complete case analysis. In summary, access to the COPD Web was insufficient to increase short-term PA level compared to usual care. However, among participants with complete step data, a clinically relevant effect on daily steps exceeding the minimal important difference was observed, partly explained by higher baseline PA than among dropouts. This indicates that access to the COPD Web may increase PA levels for some people with COPD.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. A website map of the COPD Web showing the section ‘I have COPD’.
Reprinted under the terms of the Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Flowchart of the participants in the RCT.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3. Mean daily steps and distribution for groups at baseline and at 3-month follow-up.
a Intention-to-treat analysis. b Complete case analysis.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Troosters, T. et al. Physical inactivity in patients with COPD, a controlled multi-center pilot-study. Respir. Med.104, 1005–1011 (2010). - PMC - PubMed
    1. Moy, M. L., Teylan, M., Weston, N. A., Gagnon, D. R. & Garshick, E. Daily step count predicts acute exacerbations in a US cohort with COPD. PLoS ONE8, e60400 (2013). - PMC - PubMed
    1. Garcia-Aymerich, J., Lange, P., Benet, M., Schnohr, P. & Anto, J. M. Regular physical activity reduces hospital admission and mortality in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a population based cohort study. Thorax61, 772–778 (2006). - PMC - PubMed
    1. Nguyen, H. Q. et al. Associations between physical activity and 30-day readmission risk in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Ann. Am. Thorac. Soc.11, 695–705 (2014). - PubMed
    1. Waschki, B. et al. Physical activity is the strongest predictor of all-cause mortality in patients with COPD: a prospective cohort study. Chest140, 331–342 (2011). - PubMed

Publication types