How do people with COPD walk? A European study on digitally measured real-world gait

Background: The of walking that people with COPD do is reduced. However, data on their of walking ( gait) are still lacking. We characterised real-world gait in COPD by assessing levels and distributions of gait parameters, and comparing them across COPD severity and with healthy peers. Methods: 549 people with COPD from seven European sites and 19 healthy older adults wore single wearable devices (either Axivity AX6 or DynaPort MoveMonitor MM+) continuously for 1 week, from which we identified walking bouts, calculated 15 digital mobility outcomes (DMOs) aggregated at the weekly level, and compared them across COPD severity levels and with healthy peers. Conclusion: In people with COPD, gait DMOs are normally distributed and worsen as disease advances. Moreover, walking speed and cadence DMOs are significantly altered when compared to healthy peers. Further research should elucidate which DMOs can be improved with treatments to enhance mobility and reduce adverse events.