Factors Associated with Depression in COPD: A Multicenter Study.

INTRODUCTION: Depression is a prevalent comorbidity in COPD and has an impact on the prognosis of these patients, thereby making it important to study the factors associated with depression in patients with COPD. METHOD: A multicenter, observational and cross-sectional study was conducted to study the factors associated with depression in patients with COPD measured by the hospital anxiety and depression (HAD) questionnaire. We analyzed anthropometric variables and the number of exacerbations in the previous year and calculated the 6-min walking test and the body mass index, airflow obstruction, dyspnea, and exercise (BODE) index. All the patients completed the quality of life EQ-5D and the LCADL physical activity questionnaires. The relationship of these variables with depression was evaluated with two multiple logistic regression models. RESULTS: One hundred fifteen patients were evaluated (93 % male) with a mean age of 66.9 years (SD 8.8) and a mean FEV1 % of 44.4 % (SD 15.7 %). 24.3 % presented symptoms of depression (HAD-D > 8). These latter patients had worse lung function, greater dyspnea, reduced exercise capacity, a higher score in the BODE index, poorer quality of life, reduced physical activity, and more exacerbations. In the first logistic regression model, quality of life and the BODE index were associated with depression (AUC: 0.84; 0.74-0.94). In the second model including the variables in the BODE index, quality of life and dyspnea measured with the MRC scale (AUC: 0.87; 0.79-0.95) were associated with depression. CONCLUSIONS: Nearly one-quarter of the patients with COPD in this study presented clinically significant depression associated with worse quality of life, reduced exercise capacity, greater dyspnea, and a higher score in the BODE index.

Factors associated with high healthcare resource utilisation among COPD patients.

BACKGROUND: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) places a huge economic burden on healthcare systems, especially patients with frequent exacerbations and co-morbidities. OBJECTIVES: To identify factors associated with high utilisation of healthcare resources in a population of patients with COPD. METHOD: We conducted an observational, cross-sectional, multicentre study with the aim of identifying the factors associated with high resource utilisation among patients with COPD. Sociodemographic and anthropometric characteristics of the study population, as well as data on health-related quality of life, respiratory symptoms, presence of anxiety and depression, physical activity and lung function were collected. We examined the relationship between these variables and high utilisation of healthcare resources, by performing a multivariate analysis based on a logistic regression model. RESULTS: 115 patients (64 were high users of healthcare resources, and 51 control patients) from 13 hospitals were selected. Patients presenting high resource utilisation had worse FEV1, worse basal SpO2, less distance walked in the 6-minute walk test, and increased dyspnoea. They also had a worse BODE index, worse scores in all dimensions of the EURO-QOL 5D and the LCADL scale, and displayed a higher prevalence of depression. Multivariate analysis yielded a statistically significant association between SpO2, LCADL scores, serum fibrinogen values and total leukocyte count, and high healthcare resource utilisation. CONCLUSIONS: COPD patients who incur higher healthcare resource utilisation show reduced physical activity, increased respiratory failure and increased systemic inflammation.