Article Text
Abstract
Introduction The most widely used instrument to measure perceived exertion or exercise intensity is the Borg’s Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) Scale. Panic attacks are aversive experiences that may be triggered by bodily sensations such as palpitations, breathlessness or dizziness due to increasing autonomic distress, prior sensitisation to panic and fear conditioning. The consequence is catastrophic interpretation of bodily sensations of arousal in general, which can lead to misinterpretation of exertion or exercise intensity.
Purpose To verify the effectiveness of the Borg’s RPE Scale as a measure of perceived effort in panic disorder subjects.
Methods The study enrolled 72 subjects: the control group (C, healthy sedentary subjects, n=30) and patients with panic disorder (PD, n=42). All subjects were submitted to an ergospirometry challenge. Perceived exertion RPE scores and heart rate at 90% VO2max were compared between groups.
Results Patients with PD showed lower levels of maximal oxygen consumption, when compared with C group [VO2max (mL/kg/min): PD=29.42±6.50xC=34.51±5.35; Student's t-test=−3.51; p <0.05]. Furthermore, among PD subjects, the maximum heart rate during ergospirometry challenge was lower than expected [predict max HR (bpm)=200.85±6.33xheart rate test (bpm)=178.86±7.28; Z=−5.64; p<0.05]. Perceived exertion, as measured by RPE, was also overestimated in relation to heart rate at 90% of maximum oxygen consumption compared with controls (RPE90%VO2max: PD=18.93±0.55xC=16.67±0.60; U=8.00; Z=7.42; p<0.05).
Conclusions The present study findings suggest that the Borg’s RPE Scale may not be an appropriate measure of subjective exertion among subjects with panic disorder performing a cardiopulmonary exercise test.
- Borg´s Scale
- Panic Disorder
- Ergospirometry
- Anxiety Disorders
- Misinterpretation
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Footnotes
Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank Dr Paul R Santos Silva and Dr Julia Greve for their help in data acquisition and all Movement Laboratory Studies team of orthopaedics and Traumatology Institute of the University of São Paulo Medical School in the realisation of the cardiopulmonary test. We also thank all of the Heart Institute team (INCOR - SP / Brazil) to aid the recruitment of new subjects.
Competing interests None declared.
Ethics approval Ethics Committee for Analysis of Research Projects FMUSP (CAPPESQ).
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.
Author note This study contributes to a better cardiorespiratory factor analysis in a specific population.