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Introduction. Detrended fluctuation analyses (DFA) method provides insight in long-range correlations in gait by the scaling exponent α. Changes in α have been associated with central neurological diseases and gait unsteadiness in the elderly. It is not conclusively known if α can also reflect dysfunction of other physiological systems. We evaluated the fractal dynamics of gait in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients; a population suffering from reduced muscle function and pulmonary dysfunction. Methods Healthy subjects (n=12) and COPD patients (n=15) walked continuously for six minutes as fast as possible. Stride intervals, derived with a tri-axial accelerometer, were processed with the DFA method to derive α. Results The COPD patients differed significantly (p<0.01) from healthy subjects in age (COPD 63.7 yrs±3.9; healthy 33.3 yrs±2.3), distance walked (COPD 499m±23; healthy 662m±27) stride intervals (COPD=1.08 sec.±0.08; healthy=0.95 sec.±0.08) and α (COPD 0.89±0.12; healthy 0.72±0.14). Conclusion In contrary to central neurological diseases, COPD patients show higher α compared to healthy subjects. This indicates that also muscle dysfunction or pulmonary dysfunction can influence α.
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