Influence that sociodemographic variables, clinical characteristics, and level of dependence have on quality of life in COPD patients on long-term home oxygen therapy.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate and correlate the quality of life (QoL) of COPD patients on long-term home oxygen therapy (LTOT) with their sociodemographic/clinical characteristics and level of dependence.


METHODS
This was a cross-sectional analytical study involving COPD patients on LTOT followed at the Oxygen Therapy Outpatient Clinic of the Federal University of São Paulo Hospital São Paulo, in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Sociodemographic, clinical, and biochemical data were collected. We assessed QoL and level of dependence using the Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) and the Katz index, respectively. Multiple linear regression models were constructed in order to determine the influence of these variables on QoL.


RESULTS
We included 80 patients in the study. The mean age was 69.6 ± 9.1 years, and 51.3% were female. The lowest SF-36 scores were for the physical functioning and role-physical domains. All sociodemographic characteristics (except gender) were found to correlate significantly with the SF-36 domains mental health, vitality, role-physical, and social functioning. We also found that body mass index, PaO2, post-bronchodilator FEV1, hemoglobin, and Katz index correlated significantly with the physical functioning, mental health, role-physical, and bodily pain domains. In addition, oxygen flows were found to correlate negatively with the physical functioning, mental health, vitality, and role-emotional domains.


CONCLUSIONS
Low scores for SF-36 domains, as well as the variables that negatively influence them, should be considered and analyzed during the development and implementation of strategies for improving the QoL of COPD patients on LTOT.
Escola Paulista de Enfermagem, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. simone.cedano@ig.com.br
Simone
S
Cedano
Angélica Gonçalves Silva
AG
Belasco
Fabiana
F
Traldi
Maria Christina Lombardi Oliveira
MC
Machado
Ana Rita de Cássia
AR
Bettencourt
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001938:Brazil; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005260:Female; D006699:Home Care Services; D006801:Humans; D008134:Long-Term Care; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010102:Oxygen Inhalation Therapy / Q000379:methods; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D011788:Quality of Life; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors