Study on climatotherapy for COPD and chronic bronchitis

The aim of the study led by Anna Kubincová was to test the effectiveness of rehabilitation in a mountain environment on lung function, physical performance, dyspnea,affective factors and quality of life in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and chronic bronchitis (CB).
128 patients (90 diagnosed with COPD and 38 with CB) underwent comprehensive pulmonary rehabilitation over a 3-week period in one of threemountain resorts in the High Tatras. The examination included spirometry, the 6-minute walk test, the Borg scale of dyspnea, and assessment of depression (Zung score) and anxiety (Beck score).
After the intervention, all patients in both monitored groups showed significant improvements in the objective measures where a large treatment effect was achieved. A large effect was also achieved in the subjective measures. Quality of life improved after the intervention in all monitored scales in both groups. In patients with COPD, the improvement in exercise capacity was positively correlated with baseline 6MWT and FEV1 scores and negatively correlated with the Beck Anxiety Score and Borg Dyspnea Scale, while only the improvement in the mental summary component of QoL was negatively correlated with baseline 6MWT and FEV1 scores.
Rehabilitation in a mountain environment was shown to be effective for both reported COPD and CB diagnoses. Improvements in both functional and subjective indicators were observed. These results support the use of this treatment modality.