D3.376 - The severity of the dyspnea and symptom components of COPD determines the disease course

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between quality of life, severity of disease and spirometry data using correlation analysis in patients with COPD.

The study included 23 control subjects and 34 patients: 23 patients with COPD II, and 11 patients with COPD III. All patients were assessed by  spirometry, quality of life assessment using the SF-36 and SGRQ questionnaires, test  6 MWD, assessment of dyspnea severity using mMRC and CAT tests, and measurement of the BODE index.

Results of specific quality of life questionnaires correlated with the results of COPD severity assessment. The results of the patient dyspnea severity assessment highly correlated with the predicted 4-year survival for patients diagnosed with COPD stage II. In stage III COPD, the estimated correlation coefficient between the SGRQ and the SF-36 was high, the correlation between the SF-36 and the BODE index was high, and the correlation between the BODE index and the predicted 4-year survival index was statistically significant with a very high correlation. An inverse correlation was observed between the SF-36 questionnaire and the BODE index.

For assessment of the future categorization of COPD patients, special attention should be paid to the assessment of dyspnea severity and COPD symptom components.