Effects of Pulmonary Rehabilitation in Men Compared to Women with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in Colombia

Objective: To determine the effects of pulmonary rehabilitation in men and women with a COPD diagnosis in a Colombian clinic. Method: A longitudinal and descriptive study was conducted with 75 COPD patients who entered a pulmonary rehabilitation program during 2018 and 2019. The population was divided into groups according to gender and some sociodemographic characteristics were assessed, such as spirometry expressed in percentage of the predicted value, body mass index, mMRC dyspnea, and capacity for physical exercise, as well as some physiological variables with the six-minute walk test, anxiety-depression (HADS) and quality of life (SGRQ). A p-value<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The cigarette packs smoked per year index was higher in men, 34±29.11 (p<0.001), whereas the exposure to firewood smoke was five times higher in women (p=0.037). All the variables related to the capacity for physical exercise improved significantly (p<0.021), with distance covered standing out: 63.26±60.03 vs. 51.53±61.02 in favor of women. mMRC dyspnea was initially higher in women when compared to men, 0.709±0.287, and presented a greater change in women with 1.294±0.415 when compared to men, 0.736±0.880, at the end of pulmonary rehabilitation. Conclusion: Pulmonary rehabilitation in women shows an increase of 63.26 meters in the distance covered and a 1.294-point reduction in dyspnea; while, for men, these figures were 51.53 meters and 0.736 points, respectively, as well as an improvement in quality of life in men by 11.47 SGRQ points when compared to women: 0.600.