Modulation of Dyspnea Perception During Exercise in COPD Patients Using Attentional Distraction

Summary

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major health problem whose prevalence is increasing rapidly. The gradual decrease in exercise tolerance is one of the usual consequences of COPD that affects the functional independence and quality of life of patients.

In COPD patients, breathlessness and muscle fatigue are the main symptoms limiting exercise. Recent studies have shown that most of the physiological mechanisms of psychological factors such as emotions, motivation, memory, personality, expectations, or prior experience can greatly influence and modulate the perception of breathlessness. It has been proposed that the attentional distraction (visual or auditory) during exercise may be associated with a decrease in anxiety and shortness of breath and could improve exercise tolerance in COPD. We therefore propose to study the impact of attentional strategies of distraction on the perception of dyspnea and walking tolerance in patients with COPD.

The research hypotheses are:

i) Compared with exposure to a strategy of negative attentional distraction during exercise, exposure to a strategy of positive attentional distraction will improve walking exercise tolerance in patients with COPD;

ii) For a given level of effort, sensory perception and emotional perception will be enhanced by exposure to a strategy of positive attentional distraction.

Ten subjects with moderate to severe COPD will be recruited at the Research Center of the Institut Universitaire de cardiologie et de pneumologie de Québec (CRIUCPQ). During an assessment visit, we will measure complete pulmonary function, body composition and maximal functional capacity during a maximal incremental test work performed on a treadmill.

During two subsequent experimental visits, and after spirometry control, participants will perform a walking test performed on a treadmill at an intensity corresponding to 75% of maximum effort during maximal incremental test. The test will be carried out in combination with a strategy of either positive attentional distraction, neutral attentional distraction or negative attentional distraction . The order of the condition will be randomized.

Conditions

• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Interventions

OTHER

Attentional distraction using IAPS protocol (standardized images)

Positive, Negative and Neutral Attentional distraction will be presented using IAPS protocol (standardized images) during exercise tests

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Maltais, Francois, M.D.

  collaborator INDUSTRY

• Saey, Didier, M.D.

  collaborator INDIV

• Dr Louis Laviolette

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Dr Thomas Similowski

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Laval University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• François Maltais, MD · Centre de recherche - Institut universitaire de cardiologie et de pneumologie de Québec (IUCPQ)

Study Design

Allocation

NA

Masking

QUADRUPLE

Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age

50 Years

Max Age

80 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2013-07-31

Primary Completion

2013-10-31

Completion

2013-10-31

Countries

• Canada

Study Locations