Fatigue and health-related quality of life among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in China.

Abstract

Fatigue is an important yet ignored symptom of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, there is a paucity of literature from China on fatigue and its association with health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among COPD patients. The purpose of this study was to (a) evaluate fatigue of COPD inpatients in China and (b) explore the association between fatigue and HRQoL. This cross-sectional study recruited patients hospitalised for an acute exacerbation of COPD within one month from three general hospitals in central China. Disease severity, fatigue and HRQoL were assessed for all participants using COPD Assessment Test (CAT), 9-item Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue scale (FACIT-F) and 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12v2). A total of 210 COPD patients participated in the study between April 2017 and January 2018, with an average age of 71.1±12.2years old. The overall prevalence of moderate to severe fatigue was 48.5%. A worse FACIT-F score was associated with worse CAT score (r=-0.74, P<0.01; B=-0.70, P<0.01) and worse SF-12v2 score (r=0.77, P<0.01; B=0.66, P<0.01). Almost half of the COPD patients experience moderate to severe fatigue. Patients with greater disease severity exhibited more severe fatigue and worse HRQoL. Fatigue symptom has a strongly negative effect on COPD patients' HRQoL, physical health and mental health. Health personnel is recommended to provide fatigue-related screening, counselling and health education, particularly for patients with moderate to severe COPD.