Thoracic Research and Practice
ORIGINAL INVESTIGATIONS

Assessment of Quality of Life in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

1.

Department of Chest Diseases, Celal Bayar University Faculty of Medicine, Manisa, Turkey

2.

Department of Chest Diseases, Celal Bayar University School of Medicine, Manisa, Turkey

3.

Department of Public Health of Medical Faculty of Celal Bayar University, Manisa, Turkey

Thorac Res Pract 2005; 6: Turkish Respiratory Journal 78-83
Read: 469 Downloads: 328 Published: 12 October 2021

In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between COPD severity, dyspnea degree and health-related quality of life that measures the disease effects on daily life and general well-be­ing. In this prospective study, 251 patients with COPD as defined by ATS criteria were included. After physical examination, pulmo­nary function test, dyspnea staging done by visual analogue scale (VAS), and the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) for assessment of health-related quality of life measurement were applied to all patients. 86.85% of the patients were men and mean age was 65.55±8.82. There were 100 patients (39.8%) in stage 2, 131 patients (52.2%) in stage 3, and 20 patients (8.0%) in stage 4. Mean VAS was 63.6± 13.7 mm. Mean SGRQ scores of subscales, namely, activity, symptom, impact, and total were 58.6+17.2, 57.2±13.9, 42.7+16.6, and 48.9±15.4, respectively. As the disease stage (severity) increased, a significant increase in SGRQ scores (symptom, activity, impact, and total scores) and VAS was obser­ved (p<0.05). Positive correlation between VAS and SGRQ scores was observed (p<0.05). In the COPD stage-free assessment of SGRQ scores with age, there were high SGRQ scores in elderly pa­tients (p<0.05). In conclusion, there was a correlation between qu­ality of life, dyspnea degree and disease severity classified according to pulmonary function tests. As a result, health-related quality of li­fe measurements may be an important indicator to determine the disease severity and dyspnea level.

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EISSN 2979-9139