Investigation of health-related quality of life and impact factors in elderly patients with COPD in Beijing

Abstract

Objective To assess the health-related quality of life ( HRQoL) of elderly patients with COPD in Beijing and to explore the impact factors. Methods 100 outpatients diagnosed with irreversible COPD in Beijing completed the SF-36 questionnaire. The scores of 8 dimensions of questionnaire in elderly patients with COPD were calculated and compared with those of the rural general elderly people in Tianjin. Multiple regression analysis was applied to determine the impact factors of different dimensions of SF-36. Results The scores of all the dimensions in the patients were significantly lower than those in general old rural people of Tianjin. The correlations between the different dimensions of the SF-36 and variables were: Physical functioning was well correlated with ADL, ability to carrying activities (6MWD) and anxiety. Role-physical was well correlated with anxiety, admission times in a year and nutrition ( BMI). Body pain was well correlated with anxiety. General health was well correlated with depression, social support, the number of combination chronic disease, ability to carrying activities (6MWD) and the severity of disease (FEV1. 0%). Vitality was well correlated with depression. Social functioning was well correlated with ADL, carrying activities (6MWD), social support and depression. Mental heath was well correlated with depression ,anxiety and nutrition (BMI).No variable showed significant correlation with the Role-emotional dimension. Conclusions The HRQoL of elderly patients with COPD is declined compared with general elderly people. There are a range of factors that impact different dimensions of HRQoL, chiefly emotional status and carrying activities. Targeted measures of health interventions could be carried out to improve the HRQoL of elderly patients with COPD. Key words: COPD; Elderly; HRQoL; Impact factors; SF-36 questionnaire