Clinical differences between women and men with chronic lung disease in a pulmonary rehabilitation program

Authors

Keywords:

chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, sex, rehabilitation, anxiety

Abstract

Introduction: People diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease differ by gender, possibly due to physiological and social factors that affect clinical condition, functional capacity, anxiety, depression, and health-related quality of life.

Objective: To describe the differences in sociodemographic, clinical, functional capacity, anxiety/depression, and health-related quality of life characteristics between women and men with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease upon admission to a pulmonary rehabilitation program.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 75 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease enrolled in a pulmonary rehabilitation program in the city of Cali, Colombia. Patients were divided according to sex, and sociodemographic characteristics, pulmonary function, dyspnea, functional capacity using the six-minute walk test, anxiety/depression, and health-related quality of life were evaluated.

Results: Men had a mean age of 68.55 ± 6.78, and women had a mean age of 68.60 ± 10.10. On the anxiety/depression scale, women scored higher than men; they also scored higher on exposure to wood smoke and emergency room visits in the last year. However, men were found to smoke more than women.

Conclusions: In women with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, advanced age, absence of a stable marital relationship, and anxiety were observed more frequently. These results should be taken into account when treating the population in pulmonary rehabilitation programs.

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Author Biographies

Jhonatan Betancourt Peña, Institucional Universitaria Escuela Nacional del Deporte. Cali.

Fisioterapeuta, Especialista en Rehabilitación Cardiaca y Pulmonar, Magister en Administración en Salud, Magister en Administración Pública. Docente Universidad del Valle.Centro de Estudios Olímpicos (CDO) Institucional Universitaria Escuela Nacional del Deporte

Juan Carlos Avila Valencia, Institucional Universitaria Escuela Nacional del Deporte. Cali.

Fisioterapeuta, Especialista en Rehabilitación Cardiaca y Pulmonar, Magister en Epidemiología. Docente de Facultad de Salud y Rehabilitación Institución Universitaria Escuela Nacional del Deporte. Clínica de Occidente S.A.

Valeria Perez Hortua, Universidad del Valle. Cali.

Fisioterapeuta. Facultad de Salud, Escuela de Rehabilitación Humana, Universidad del Valle. Grupo de Investigación Ejercicio y salud cardiopulmonar (GIESC)

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Published

2025-10-11

How to Cite

1.
Betancourt Peña J, Avila Valencia JC, Perez Hortua V. Clinical differences between women and men with chronic lung disease in a pulmonary rehabilitation program. Rev Cubana Inv Bioméd [Internet]. 2025 Oct. 11 [cited 2025 Oct. 13];44. Available from: https://revibiomedica.sld.cu/index.php/ibi/article/view/3553

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Section

ARTÍCULOS ORIGINALES