Progressive Decline in Daily Walking Patterns Among COPD Patients Study Reveals

Walking is a fundamental activity essential for maintaining overall health and mobility. While many studies have focused on how much individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) walk, fewer have examined the detailed characteristics of their walking habits outside clinical settings. Addressing this gap, researchers from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), supported by the 'la Caixa' Foundation, employed advanced digital technologies to analyze how COPD affects daily walking patterns.

The study evaluated gait parameters such as walking speed, steps per minute, and stride length in real-life conditions across 549 participants with COPD, averaging 68 years old, from seven European cities including Athens, Barcelona, Grosshansdorf, Leuven, London, Newcastle, and Zurich. Participants wore wearable waist-mounted devices for a week, utilizing algorithms specifically designed for individuals with limited mobility. This research is part of the broader European Mobilise-D project aimed at improving mobility monitoring through digital gait analysis.

Findings indicate that gait quality worsens as COPD progresses. Patients with more severe symptoms and frequent exacerbations displayed slower walking speeds, shorter steps, and lower cadence. Furthermore, they showed less variability in gait parameters compared to those with milder disease. A secondary comparison with healthy adults of similar age confirmed that COPD patients walk significantly slower and with reduced cadence. As Judith Garcia-Aymerich, the study's senior author, explains, 'COPD affects not only how much people walk but also how they walk.' The decline in gait performance is likely due to reduced physical capacity from symptoms, complications, and chronic inflammation associated with advanced COPD.

The study also demonstrated that real-world gait parameters tend to be lower than those observed in clinical or supervised environments but are similar to prior unmonitored studies. Laura Delgado-Ortiz, lead author, emphasizes that wearable sensors over several days provide a more accurate reflection of mobility outside healthcare settings, revealing the true impact of COPD on everyday movement.

These insights have important clinical implications. Recognizing gait alterations early can help healthcare providers to intervene more effectively, potentially reducing risks of falls, disability, and mortality among COPD patients. Overall, the study underscores the importance of digital gait analysis in real-life settings to better understand and manage mobility impairments caused by COPD.

Source: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-06-daily-patterns-copd-patients-deterioration.html