ical condition of people with chronic respiratory disease.”1
A meta-analysis demonstrated that PR is effective in improving
dyspnea and health-related quality of life (HRQOL)
in patients with moderate-to-very-severe COPD,2 and thus,
it is currently recognized as a core component of the management
of these patients.3
Recent evidence showed that quadriceps muscle strength
and HRQOL are already impaired in patients with mild
COPD (post-bronchodilator FEV,/FVC < 0.7 and FEV,
> 80% of predicted).4-5 Therefore, as stated in the American
Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society State-