Emphysema on imaging is associated with quality of life in elderly patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Background: Limited data are available on the association between the severity of emphysema or airway narrowing, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which has been seen to be more prevalent among elderly subjects. The aim of this study was to examine the association between HRQOL, physical parameters and structural alterations in lung of COPD patients. Methods: Stable COPD patients (n = 125; mean age 71.0) were studied. Both the severity of emphysema, which was expressed as the extent of the low-attenuation area (LAA%), and percentage of the large airway wall area (WA%) on high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) were compared with various parameters of the generic and HRQOL, respectively, together with pulmonary function tests and exercise capacity. Results: The predicted value of forced expiratory volume in 1 s was significantly associated with both LAA% and WA%, but the diffusion capacity was strongly correlated with LAA% alone. Parameters of the generic and HRQOL, and almost all other parameters appeared to be significantly associated with LAA% alone, whereas no association was observed between WA% and QOL. Conclusion: We concluded that the severity of emphysema, but not that of large airway narrowing on HRCT, is associated with both generic and health-related QOL and reduced diffusion capacity. This notion might provide useful information in practice among elderly subjects who are unable to perform a spirometry.