Treatable Traits That Predict Health Status and Treatment Response in Airway Disease

A strategy based on the assessment and management of treatable traits (TTs) has been proposed as a new paradigm in airway disease. There is a potentially long list of TTs with likely different clinical impact.

To identify TTs most strongly associated with poorer health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and treatments that most substantially improved HRQOL.

We pooled data from 2 parallel-group clinical trials of multidimensional assessment and individualized management targeted to TTs versus usual care in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or severe asthma (intervention N = 45; control N = 46). Following multidimensional assessment, 22 TTs were identified and the intervention group received treatments tailored to their identified TT. We used Bayesian Model Averaging to examine associations between TTs and HRQOL (St George's Respiratory Questionnaire) at baseline, as well as between each TT treatment and the observed change in HRQOL postintervention.

TTs most substantially associated with poorer baseline HRQOL were frequent chest infections, breathing pattern disorder, inadequate inhaler technique, systemic inflammation (C-reactive protein >3 mg/L), and depression. In both trials, TT treatment led to a large, significant improvement in HRQOL compared with usual care (Cohen's d = 1.19; P < .001). Receiving a statin for systemic inflammation and oral corticosteroid for eosinophilic airway inflammation was associated with the largest HRQOL improvements. Treatments for exercise intolerance, anxiety, and obesity were associated with smaller improvements in HRQOL.

This study contributes to identifying clinically impactful TTs by showing that TTs across pulmonary, extrapulmonary, and behavioral domains were associated with HRQOL impairment and treatment response.