| Summary: | Objectives: The Test of Incremental Respiratory Endurance is a novel testing method that provides a unique examination of one’s inspiratory muscle strength, work and endurance. Little is known about the relationship between inspiratory muscle performance and mortality risk in obstructive lung disease. We examined the relationship between the Test of Incremental Respiratory Endurance measures and the Body-mass index, airflow Obstruction, Dyspnea and Exercise index in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Methods: In all, 70 males with mild-to-very severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (mean ± standard deviation of 70.2 ± 5.9 years) underwent measurements of body-mass index, spirometry, dyspnea and a 6-min walk test from which the Body-mass index, airflow Obstruction, Dyspnea and Exercise score was calculated. The Test of Incremental Respiratory Endurance provided measures of maximal inspiratory pressure, sustained maximal inspiratory pressure and inspiratory duration. Results: All Test of Incremental Respiratory Endurance parameters inversely correlated with the Body-mass index, airflow Obstruction, Dyspnea and Exercise score: maximal inspiratory pressure (r = −0.355, p = 0.00), sustained maximal inspiratory pressure (r = −0.426, p = 0.00) and ID (r = −0.278, p = 0.02), with sustained maximal inspiratory pressure displaying the highest correlation. Independent significant correlations were also observed between the sustained maximal inspiratory pressure and all Body-mass index, airflow Obstruction, Dyspnea and Exercise score components, except for body-mass index. Finally, sustained maximal inspiratory pressure was significantly different among the Body-mass index, airflow Obstruction, Dyspnea and Exercise index quartiles. Discussion: The significant association between the Body-mass index, airflow Obstruction, Dyspnea and Exercise score and inspiratory muscle performance, in particular sustained maximal inspiratory pressure, suggests that these measures may have a potential prognostic value in the evaluation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
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