Air quality influence on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients' quality of life.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the leading causes of death. The relationship between urban air pollution and its short-term health effects on patients suffering from COPD is confirmed. However, information about the impact of air pollutants upon the quality of life (QOL) in patients with COPD is lacking. Through a cross-sectional survey, this study investigates such impact in terms of the scores of the (Chinese) chronic respiratory questionnaire (CCRQ) and the measurements of indoor air quality (IAQ), lung function and Moser's activities of daily living (ADL). Using Yule's Q statistic with a cutoff |Q|>0.7 to identify the strong relationships between environmental parameters and CRQ sub-scores, this study reveals that patient emotion is strongly associated with indoor environmental quality although the evidence of a causal relationship between them needs further research.


CONCLUSIONS
As QOL in patients with COPD and indoor environmental parameters are strongly associated, indoor air pollutants must be monitored for related studies in the future.
Fong
K N K
KN
Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China.
Mui
K W
KW
Chan
W Y
WY
Wong
L T
LT
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000032:analysis; D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000032:analysis; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D062665:Epidemiological Monitoring; D005221:Fatigue / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006723:Hong Kong / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D011788:Quality of Life; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D000393:Air Pollutants