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Updated: May 27, 2026

Home-Based Prescribed Pulmonary Exercise in Patients with Stable Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Published on: August 24, 2019
Symptoms and functional performance in Korean immigrants with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Soo Kyung Park1, Nancy A Stotts, Marilyn K Douglas
1School of Nursing, University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, 400 North Ingalls Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA. sookyung.park7@gmail.com
Objectives:
People with chronic obstructive lung diseases often experience a variety of symptoms. Few studies, however, have described these symptoms in detail. This study sought to examine concurrent symptoms, symptom clusters, and the effects of symptoms on functioning in Korean immigrants with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Methods:
Outpatients with asthma or COPD participated in this cross-sectional, correlational study. Symptoms, dyspnea, mood, and functional performance were assessed with questionnaires. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data.
Results:
The most frequently reported symptom was shortness of breath. Three factors emerged from 16 symptoms. Age, mean severity score of 7 symptoms, working status, level of acculturation, and level of education explained significant variance in functional performance.
Conclusion:
The symptom cluster, consisting of 7 symptoms, showed the greatest effect on levels of functioning, which emphasizes the importance of assessment for coexisting symptoms in populations with these diseases.
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