A 3-YEAR FOLLOW-UP OF ASTHMATIC-PATIENTS PARTICIPATING IN A 10-WEEK REHABILITATION PROGRAM WITH EMPHASIS ON PHYSICAL-TRAINING

Objective: To determine if asthmatic patients who had participated in a 10-week rehabilitation program with emphasis on physical training (1 ) continued with physical training, (2) maintained their improved card iovascular condition and lung function, and (3) retained their goad as thma control through the following 3 years. Design: A descriptive 3-ye ar follow-up study. Patients and Setting: A convenience sample of 58 p atients who had previously undergone a 10-week outpatient rehabilitati on program were followed up 6 months and 1, 1.5, 2, and 3 years after the start of the program at a lung clinic in a university hospital. Ma in Outcome Measures: A training log was kept by each patient to record frequency, intensity, and mode of training. Physical condition was ev aluated with a submaximal 6-minute ergometry test and a 12-minute walk ing test, respiratory function with static and dynamic spirometry, and bronchial hyperreactivity with a metacholine provocation test. Asthma symptoms and asthma control were measured with a study-specific quest ionnaire. Results: Thirty-nine subjects (68%) exercised regularly duri ng all 3 years. The cardiovascular condition and lung function values remained almost unchanged in all 58 patients. There was a significant decrease in number of emergency room visits the year after the 10-week rehabilitation program compared to the year before. It remained stabl e throughout the following 2 years. There was also a decrease in asthm a symptoms in all patients, but the decrease was significant only in a subgroup of 26 patients, who exercised one or two times a week. Concl usions: It is possible for asthmatic subjects to exercise at a moderat e intensity level on a long-term basis without deleterious effects. Mo reover, the high compliance rate might indicate that inactive asthmati c patients who are taught how to exercise choose to continue to be phy sically active. (C) 1998 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Me dicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitatio n.