Cognitive and Physical Training in Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients

Summary

Cognitive and physical function impairments are common in patients diagnosed with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Research has shown that cognitive and physical exercise training may be a beneficial strategy to improve physical and cognitive performance in COPD patients; however, interventions combining physical and cognitive training have not been evaluated in this population. The objectives of this research are i) to evaluate the feasibility of an 8-week home-based cognitive-physical training program in COPD patients; and ii) to derive preliminary estimates on intervention efficacy with cognitive-physical training on dual-task performance, physical function, activities of daily living, and health-related quality of life. Related to our research objectives, we hypothesize that i) it will be feasible to safely recruit COPD patients into a home-based cognitive physical training program with 75% adherence and high satisfaction ratings with the prescribed training; and that ii) the combination of cognitive and physical training will be superior to physical training alone for improving dual-task and cognitive performance, physical function, activities of daily living, and health-related quality of life.

Conditions

• Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Physical Training

Eight weeks of home-based physical exercise training. Aerobic training will be performed 5 times per week using a foot peddler for a minimum of 30 minutes at a moderate intensity (Borg Exertion Scale: between 4 and 6; pedaling speed: 50 RPM). Strength training will be performed 2 times per week, with 1-3 sets of 10-12 repetitions per exercise. Strength exercises will include training with resistance bands and bodyweight exercises. Participants will be instructed to reduce the intensity of their training if they reach a score of 7 on the Borg Exertion Scale, if oxygen saturation is less than 85%, or if they experience any symptoms. Exercise prescriptions will be developed and monitored by an exercise professional with weekly follow-up meetings and supported with a web application (Physiotec) that allows customizable exercise prescriptions, tracking of exercise completion, and video tutorials.

BEHAVIORAL

Cognitive-Physical Training

Eight weeks of home-based cognitive and physical training. Cognitive training sessions will be performed 5 times per week using the Brain HQ platform (Posit Science; San Francisco, CA, USA) and will have a duration of approximately 60 minutes. The cognitive training program will be tailored by using the Personal Trainer function which presents an automated sequence of exercise levels to participants based on selected exercises. Participants will have identical sessions initially, but schedules will diverge as participants progress and as the algorithm considers their individual performance history. The Personal Trainer program will be customized to the abilities of each user and will include a focus on the following domains: sustained attention, executive function, short and long-term memory, and anxiety and depression. Participants in this group will also engage in the same exercise training intervention as participants in the Physical Training group.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)

  collaborator OTHER_GOV

• Boehringer Ingelheim

  collaborator INDUSTRY

• University Health Network, Toronto

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Dmitry Rozenberg, MD PhD · University Health Network, Toronto

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

50 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2022-03-01

Primary Completion

2025-09-22

Completion

2025-09-22

Countries

• Canada

Study Locations