The health-related quality-of-life of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients anddisease-related indirect burdens

ABSTRACT

Background/Aims@#Many chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patientshave physical limitations. We investigated EuroQol five-dimensions five-level (EQ-5D-5L) of COPD patients to assess quality of life, and assessed indirect burden including time expenditure to visit doctor, home care rate, and caregiver related burden. @*Methods@#We recruited 355 COPD patients according to severity of airflow limitationthat severity was set at 10% mild, 40% moderate, 30% severe, and 20% very severe in two primary and 11 secondary/tertiary hospitals. Eligible patients were aged ≥ 40 years, who have been diagnosed with COPD for more than 1 year. Patients were recruited between June 2015 and October 2016. @*Results@#The quality of life tended to decline with age, from mild to very severe impairment, as revealed by the EQ-5D-5L scores and the EQ visual analog scale.Family caregivers accompanied 22.6% of patients who visited outpatient clinics,and 25% of stage IV COPD patients. During emergency visits and hospitalization,this figure increased to > 60%. The home care rates were 28.5% for stage I patients, and 34.4, 31.8, and 52% for stage II to IV patients, respectively. The percentage of caregivers who stopped working was 13.6%. The EQ-5D index was strongly associated with the dyspnea scale (r = –0.64, p < 0.001). The average required time to see a doctor and visit the pharmacy was 154 minutes. @*Conclusions@#In patients with COPD, the EQ-5D index decreased and disease-relatedhome caregiving increased with airflow limitation. We considered the caregiver-related burden when making a strategy for COPD managemen