Physical activity, health status and risk of hospitalization in patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
BACKGROUND
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a leading cause of death and 70% of the cost of COPD is due to hospitalizations. Self-reported daily physical activity and health status have been reported as predictors of a hospitalization in COPD but are not routinely assessed.


OBJECTIVE
We tested the hypothesis that self-reported daily physical activity and health status assessed by a simple question were predictors of a hospitalization in a well-characterized cohort of patients with severe emphysema.


METHODS
Investigators gathered daily physical activity and health status data assessed by a simple question in 597 patients with severe emphysema and tested the association of those patient-reported outcomes to the occurrence of a hospitalization in the following year. Multiple logistic regression analyses were used to determine predictors of hospitalization during the first 12 months after randomization.


RESULTS
The two variables tested in the hypothesis were significant predictors of a hospitalization after adjusting for all univariable significant predictors: >2 h of physical activity per week had a protective effect [odds ratio (OR) 0.60; 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.41-0.88] and self-reported health status as fair or poor had a deleterious effect (OR 1.57; 95% CI 1.10-2.23). In addition, two other variables became significant in the multivariate model: total lung capacity (every 10% increase) had a protective effect (OR 0.88; 95% CI 0.78-0.99) and self-reported anxiety had a deleterious effect (OR 1.75; 95% CI 1.13-2.70).


CONCLUSIONS
Self-reported daily physical activity and health status are independently associated with COPD hospitalizations. Our findings, assessed by simple questions, suggest the value of patient-reported outcomes in developing risk assessment tools that are easy to use.
Benzo
Roberto P
RP
Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA. benzo.roberto@mayo.edu
Chang
Chung-Chou H
CC
Farrell
Max H
MH
Kaplan
Robert
R
Ries
Andrew
A
Martinez
Fernando J
FJ
Wise
Robert
R
Make
Barry
B
Sciurba
Frank
F
D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012647:Self-Assessment; D016896:Treatment Outcome