A prospective study was performed to confirm the prevalence pattern of the most frequent co-morbidities and to evaluate whether characteristics of patients, specific comorbidities and increasing number of comorbidities are independently associated with poorer outcomes in a population with complex chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) submitted for pulmonary rehabilitation (PR).316 outpatients (mean¡SD age 68¡7 yrs) were studied. The outcomes recorded were comorbidities and proportion of patients with a pre-defined minimally significant change in exercise tolerance (6-min walk distance (6MWD) +54 m), breathlessness (Medical Research Council (MRC) score -1 point) and quality of life (St George's Respiratory Questionnaire -4 points).62% of patients reported comorbidities; systemic hypertension (35%), dyslipidaemia (13%), diabetes (12%) and coronary disease (11%) were the most frequent. Of these patients, .45% improved over the minimum clinically important difference in all the outcomes. In a logistic regression model, baseline 6MWD (OR 0.99, 95% CI 0.98-0.99; p50.001), MRC score (OR 12.88, 95% CI 6.89-24.00; p50.001) and arterial carbon dioxide tension (OR 1.08, 95% CI 1.00-1.15; p50.034) correlated with the proportion of patients who improved 6MWD and MRC, respectively. Presence of osteoporosis reduced the success rate in 6MWD (OR 0.28, 95% CI 0.11-0.70; p50.006).A substantial prevalence of comorbidities in COPD outpatients referred for PR was confirmed. Only the individual's disability and the presence of osteoporosis were independently associated with poorer rehabilitation outcomes.

Clinical and functional baseline findings do not predict the response to PRP in COPD. The greater efficacy in patients with BMI>25 or with PaO(2)<60mmHg may be due to a greater deconditioning in overweight patients, and to a larger room for improvement in hypoxemic patients.

We described physical activity measures and hourly patterns in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) after stratification for generic and COPD-specific characteristics and, based on multiple physical activity measures, we identified clusters of patients. In total, 1001 patients with COPD (65% men; age, 67 years; forced expiratory volume in the first second [FEV1], 49% predicted) were studied cross-sectionally. Demographics, anthropometrics, lung function and clinical data were assessed. Daily physical activity measures and hourly patterns were analysed based on data from a multisensor armband. Principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis were applied to physical activity measures to identify clusters. Age, body mass index (BMI), dyspnoea grade and ADO index (including age, dyspnoea and airflow obstruction) were associated with physical activity measures and hourly patterns. Five clusters were identified based on three PCA components, which accounted for 60% of variance of the data. Importantly, couch potatoes (i.e. the most inactive cluster) were characterised by higher BMI, lower FEV1, worse dyspnoea and higher ADO index compared to other clusters (p < 0.05 for all). Daily physical activity measures and hourly patterns are heterogeneous in COPD. Clusters of patients were identified solely based on physical activity data. These findings may be useful to develop interventions aiming to promote physical activity in COPD.

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