The burden of symptoms among community-dwelling older persons with advanced chronic disease.
BACKGROUND
Little is known about the frequency and range of symptoms experienced by community-dwelling older persons with advanced chronic disease who are not enrolled in hospice. The objectives of our study were to determine (1) the prevalence of a range of symptoms among older persons with advanced chronic disease and (2) whether the prevalence of symptoms is similar across diagnoses.


METHODS
This was a cross-sectional study of the symptoms reported by 226 community-dwelling persons 60 years or older with advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cancer, or congestive heart failure (CHF). Symptoms were assessed using the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System.


RESULTS
Virtually all participants (86%) experienced at least 1 symptom that rated moderate or severe, and most (69%) experienced 2 or more symptoms. The symptoms reported by the greatest proportion of participants were limited activity (61%), fatigue (47%), and physical discomfort (38%). Participants with COPD had a higher unadjusted mean +/- SD number of moderate or severe symptoms (3.3 +/- 2.1) than did participants with cancer (2.6 +/- 1.8; P = .03) or CHF (2.0 +/- 1.7; P<.001). After we adjusted for sociodemographic factors, compared with participants with CHF, participants with cancer experienced 38% (95% confidence interval, 9%-75%) more moderate or severe symptoms and participants with COPD experienced 71% (95% confidence interval, 37%-114%) more moderate or severe symptoms.


CONCLUSIONS
Most community-dwelling older persons with advanced COPD, cancer, or CHF experienced multiple moderate or severe symptoms. The clinical care of community-dwelling older persons with advanced chronic illnesses would be enhanced by the identification and alleviation of the range of symptoms they experience.
Walke
Lisa M
LM
Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Conn. 06504, USA. lisa.walke@yale.edu
Gallo
William T
WT
Tinetti
Mary E
ME
Fried
Terri R
TR
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002908:Chronic Disease; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications*; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000150:complications*; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012720:Severity of Illness Index