Health-related quality of life as a potential predictor in chronic obstructive lung disease patients

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is used as an umbrella term for chronic bronchitis and emphysema and is the fourth most common cause of death in North America. Current therapies are based on reducing risk factors as there is no known cure for this disease and hence an important focus of clinical medicine has been the prevention of further decline in physical function and the enhancement of health-related quality of life. The objective of the study is to assess the relationship between the patients' reported health-related quality of life and the severity of disease as measured by clinical indicators. A prospective, nonrandomized, observational study was conducted. The population consisted of subjects presenting to the University of Maryland Medical Center and the Baltimore Veterans Administration outpatient clinic, enrolled according to a convenience, staggered sampling. The Airways obstruction Questionnaire-20, the Medical Outcomes Study short form-12 and the Health Utilities Index instruments were used, and descriptive, as well as multivariate analyses were performed using multivariate linear regression models. The chronic obstructive pulmonary disease cohort was predominantly Caucasian (64%) and male (68%). The disease-specific instrument (Airways obstruction Questionnaire-20) had weak associations with the utility scores as well as a mental component and mild association with a physical component. Results showed a mild association between the disease severity, which is based on the forced expiratory volume in 1 s value, and the health-related quality of life scores. Over a 3-month period, no change was seen in the patient-reported health-related quality of life and the change in health-related quality-of-life scores was not associated with disease severity.