Predictors of quality of life in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Abstract

Background. The predictors of quality of life (QoL) usually combine both objective disease severity and subjective individual variables. The aim of this study was to analyze the contribution of objective and subjective variables to QoL in a sample of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Methods. 119 patients with COPD completed a QoL measure (Saint George’s Respiratory Questionnaire) and questionnaires measuring social support, personality, subjective disease-related appraisals and acceptance of life with the disease. All patients were subjected to routine physical examination, gasometric study and pulmonary function examinations. Regression analysis was computed with QoL as a dependent variable and the remaining measures as independent variables. Findings. Only one subjective (appraising the disease as an obstacle/loss) and one objective (maximal volume capacity – VCmax) variable were significant predictors of QoL, accounting for up to 24% of variance in QoL. Discussion. Out of a wide range of independent variables in this study, only two were found to explain (a portion of) variance in respiratory QoL. This urges researchers to search for other factors that affect QoL in patients with COPD.