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Updated: Jan 26, 2026
Imaging Features of Systemic Sclerosis-Associated Interstitial Lung Disease
Published on: June 16, 2020
Performance of the COPD Assessment Test in patients with connective tissue disease-associated interstitial lung
Atsushi Suzuki1, Yasuhiro Kondoh2, Jeffrey James Swigris3
1Department of Respiratory Medicine and Allergy, Tosei General Hospital, Seto, Aichi, Japan; Department of Respiratory Medicine, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan.
Background:
Patients with connective tissue disease-associated interstitial lung disease (CTD-ILD) often experience impaired health status. In daily clinical practice, a short and easy instrument for assessing health status would be useful to help better understand the patient's condition. The COPD Assessment Test (CAT) is a simple questionnaire about respiratory symptoms and their impact. We aimed to examine the CAT's performance characteristics and to generate data to support its reliability and validity in patients with CTD-ILD.
Methods:
We used data from 132 CTD-ILD patients evaluated at Tosei General Hospital from July 2011 to July 2016 to assess the cross-sectional and longitudinal validity of the CAT.
Results:
The mean age of the patients was 64.5 years and 87 (66%) were women. There were no significant differences in CAT score between any of the CTD subgroups. Internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.881) and repeatability (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] = 0.803) for the CAT score were acceptable. At baseline, CAT score was significantly associated with clinically meaningful measures of physiologic function, exercise capacity, and dyspnea. Change in CAT score over 6-12 months was also associated with change in other measures. In the distribution- and anchor-based analyses, the estimated minimal clinically important difference of CAT score was 1-4 points.
Conclusion:
These data support the validity and reliability of CAT as a sensitive measure for assessing health status in patients with CTD-ILD.
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