Can the nutritional condition of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients influence the dyspnea severity and quality of life?

Abstract

Background and objective Nutritional impairment is a frequent issue in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and has a negative effect on both morbidity and mortality. Therefore, this study was designed to explore the nutritional condition of stable COPD patients and to investigate their influence on dyspnea severity and quality of life (QoL). Patients and methods This case–control study was done on 100 stable COPD patients greater than or equal to 65 years old and 80 healthy controls who visited the outpatient clinic of El Demerdash Hospital between January 2019 and December 2019. All patients underwent spirometry and finished the Arabic version short form of the ‘mininutritional assessment’ test. Their dyspnea severity and QoL were also assessed. Results The patients were divided into three groups according to short form of the ‘mininutritional assessment’ test results: well-nourished (n=24, 24%), at risk of malnutrition (n=31, 31%), and malnourished (n=45, 45%). About 90.6% of malnourished patients had dyspnea grade 4; their mean score of COPD assessment test was 36 and they also had the lowest values of spirometric parameters. Conclusion About 45% of stable COPD patients were malnourished; they had a high sensation of dyspnea (higher modified Medical Research Council dyspnea grade) and poorer QoL (high COPD assessment test score).