Does Physical Activity Cause Anxiety In COPD Patients?

We generally think of physical activity as a good thing; exercise and staying active are important for your fitness and overall wellbeing. And certainly this is generally the case, it is important for our health that we get plenty of physical activity in our lives to stave off illness and problematic medical conditions. But now it seems that for patients of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) things might not be so simple.

A new study has revealed that increased physical activity in patients with COPD is associated with higher levels of anxiety. In a study of 148 patients of COPD, a research team found that Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scales-Anxiety scores were positively and independently associated with the number of steps that a patient took in a day.

It is not currently clear whether anxious COPD patients are more restless with increased activity as a coping mechanism or whether those with COPD who push themselves to be more physically active then naturally experience more anxiety symptoms. The team says that more research into the area needs to be done to establish exactly which way round the problem is.

Interestingly, the team also found that increased levels of depression were associated with a lower number of steps taken per day which suggests that we still do not fully understand the association between physical activity and COPD.

The authors recommended that future studies that look into COPD should include measures of physical activity and systematic evaluations for anxiety to better inform how to improve the management of the disease for the patients.

At the very least it means that scientists can now examine the link between anxiety and physical activity and it could result in new treatments being recommended for coping with the condition.