Assesment on health-related quality of life in elderly patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Abstract

Objective To assess the health-related quality of life in elderly patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD). Methods The patients were collected from the outpatient department, a tertiary hospital in ShaanXi Province. The demographic characteristics such as age, gender, weight and height were collected. Spirometry was performed for every patient after salbutamol 400 μg was inhaled. 6-minute walk test was done according to the guidelines which developed by American Thoracic Society in 2002. Four questionnaires, including COPD Assessment Test (CAT), Clinical COPD Questionnaire-week Version (CCQ), St George's Respiratory Questionnaire for COPD Patients (SGRQ-C) and Chronic Respiratory Questionnaire-Self Administered Standardized Activities-First Administration Version (CRQ-SAS), were answered by every participant. Results Totally 90 participants were enrolled between September 2013 and September 2014. 75 cases(83.3%) were male and 70 cases (77.8%) were smokers or ex-smokers, the mean age was (67.8±9.7)years, and the mean educational history was (8.9±3.0)years. The mean body mass index was (23.3±3.6) kg/m2, and the mean post-brochodilator FEV1 was (51.2±18.7)% predicted. The average 6-minute walk distance was (424.5±99.1) meters. The average scores of CAT and CCQ were(20.4±6.9) and (2.4±0.8), respectively. The mean SGRQ-C score was (38.5±16.2). The symptoms, activity and impacts average scores of SGRQ-C were (64.3±18.8), (45.1±21.3) and (25.7±16.1). For CRQ-SAS, the average scores of dyspnea, fatigue, emotional function and mastery were (2.9±1.3), (2.9±1.1), (3.0±1.1) and (2.9±1.1), respectively. There was a weak correlation between FEV1 and each questionnaire scores. There was a moderate correlation between 6-minute walk distance and SGRQ-C, CCQ and CRQ-SAS. However, there was a weak correlation between CAT and 6-minute walk distance. For 6-minute walk distance, activity score of SGRQ-C, impacts score of SGRQ-C and history of coronary artery disease were independent influencing factors. For BODE index, activity and impacts score of SGRQ-C were independent influencing factors. Conclusions CAT, CCQ, SGRQ-C and CRQ-SAS are suitable to assess health-related quality of life for elderly patients with stable COPD, among four questionnaires, SGRQ-C is the best one. Key words: Pulmonary disease, chronic obstructive; Quality of life