Comparative study of two quality of life questionnaires in patients with COPD.
OBJECTIVE
To compare two quality of life questionnaires-the Saint George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) and the Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36)-in patients with COPD, focusing on the discriminative properties of the questionnaires and correlating their domains with the following variables: Modified Medical Research Council Dyspnea Scale score; Beck Depression Inventory score; visual analog scale general health perception; Mini-Mental State Examination score; and a COPD clinical score developed specifically for the study.


METHODS
We interviewed 30 COPD patients between May and September of 2006. For the SF-36 and SGRQ, scores (total and domain) were compared and correlated.


RESULTS
With the exception of the pain domain, all of the SF-36 domains correlated significantly with the SGRQ total score (r = -0.5 to -0.69; p < 0.01). Of the SGQR domains, only the symptoms domain correlated significantly with all of the variables studied (p < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
The majority of the expected correlations between the SGRQ and the SF-36 were observed, as were those expected between the two questionnaires and the other variables studied. The SGRQ, notably the symptoms domain, presented better discriminative properties than did the generic SF-36 questionnaire. The SF-36 is not an appropriate instrument for determining the affective state of COPD patients.
Buss
Andréa Sória
AS
Pulmonary Function Laboratory, Pereira Filho Ward, Santa Casa Hospital Complex in Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Brazil. deabuss@yahoo.com.br
Silva
Luciano Müller Correa da
LM
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000503:physiopathology; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D004417:Dyspnea / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011788:Quality of Life; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*