Abstract:
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common disease with increasing prevalence, which tends to show accelerated progression in patients over 65 years old, consequently becoming a major public health problem among elderly populations worldwide. Patients experience a progressive deterioration up to end-stage COPD, characterized by airflow limitation, a severely limited and declining performance status with chronic respiratory failure, advanced age, and various comorbidities due to systemic manifestations. These are mainly attributed to a delay in diagnosis, leading to additional and unexpected comorbidities during the clinical course. These comorbidities can be divided into three major groups: one is a COPD-specific group such as lung cancer; the second group comprises comorbidities generally observed at an advanced age, such as aspiration pneumonia or cognitive impairment; and the third group is made up of a mixture of these, such as osteoporosis, stroke, or ischemic heart disease.
The majority of elderly patients with COPD are managed by primary care physicians who still may not be aware of the recent clinical guidelines; thus, these patients are unlikely to receive proper management in the long term. The culmination of a delayed clinical diagnosis and poor management results in the reduction of activities of daily living (ADL), repeated exacerbations, a poor quality of life (QOL), and high mortality rate in the elderly with COPD, leading to an increasing socio-economic burden. The management of COPD in elderly patients requires multidisciplinary holistic care with a comprehensive approach based on home respiratory care. In this regard, the role of primary care cannot be overestimated, and cooperation between specialist groups and primary care physicians, along with the support of local health care professionals, is critical. Therefore, treatment improvements and a team approach regarding COPD and its comorbidities are urgently needed in terms of health care for elderly COPD patients in our aging society.
We have described problems concerning elderly COPD patients through our experiences in Japan, particularly from the aspect of the health-related QOL and its perspectives.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Abbreviations
- 6MWD:
-
6-minute walking distance
- 11-Q:
-
pre-interview questionnaire with 11 questions
- ADL:
-
activities of daily living
- AQ:
-
airways questionnaire
- ATS:
-
American Thoracic Society
- BPQ:
-
breathing problems questionnaire
- COPD:
-
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
- CRQ:
-
chronic respiratory questionnaire
- FEV1:
-
forced expiratory volume in 1 s
- GERD:
-
gastroesophageal reflux disorders
- GOLD:
-
Global initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease
- HOT:
-
home oxygen therapy
- HMV:
- HRQOL:
-
health-related quality of life
- IADL:
-
instrumental activities of daily living
- ICF:
-
international classification of functioning, disability, and health
- ICIDH-I:
-
international classification of impairments, disabilities, and handicaps
- LTOT:
- LVRS:
-
lung volume reduction surgery
- OCD:
-
oxygen cost diagram
- OSAS:
-
obstructive sleep apnea syndrome
- QOL:
-
quality of life
- QOL-RIQ:
-
quality of life for respiratory illness questionnaire
- QOL scale:
-
questionnaires for quality of life using a linear analog scale
- SAS:
-
self-administered standardized
- SF-36:
-
36-item short-form health survey
- SGRQ:
-
St George’s respiratory questionnaire
- SIP:
-
sickness impact profile
- URI:
-
upper respiratory infection
- VAS:
-
visual analogue scale
- WHO:
-
World Health Organization
References
Agusti AGN. (2005). Proc Am Thorac Soc. 2: 367–370.
American Thoracic Society. (1997). Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 152 (Suppl.): S77–S121.
American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society Task Force. Standards for the Diagnosis and Management of Patients with COPD [Internet]. Version 1.2. American Thoracic Society; 2004 [updated 2005 September 8], New York. Available at: http://www.thoracic.org/go/copd.
Anderson GF. (2005). N Engl J Med. 353: 305–309.
Anzueto A, Sethi S, Martinez FJ. (2007). Proc ATS. 4: 554–564.
Babbott SF, Bigby JA, Day SC, Dugdale DC, Fihn SD, Kapoor WN, McMahon LF Jr, Rosenthal GE, Sinsky CA. (2006). Available at: www.sgim.org/pdf/SGIMReports/BRPFinalReport71106.pdf/ Accessed on 14 Mar 2008.
Buist AS, McBurnie MA, Vollmer WM, Gillespie S, Burney P, Mannino DM, Menezes AM, Sullivan SD, Lee TA, Weiss KB, Jensen RL, Marks GB, Gulsvik A, Nizankowska-Mogilnicka E; BOLD Collaborative Research Group. (2007). Lancet. 370: 741–750.
Carr AJ, Gibson B, Robinson PG. (2001). BMJ. 322: 1240–1243.
Casas, A, Troosters T, Garcia-Aymerich J, Roca J, Hernandez C, Alonso A, del Pozo F, de Toledo P, Anto JM, Rodriguez-Roisin R, Decramer M. (2006). Eur Respir J. 28: 123–130.
Cassano P, Fava M. (2002). J Psychosom Res. 53: 849–857.
Cazzola M, MacNee W, Martinez FJ, Rabe KF, Franciosi LG, Barnes PJ, Brusasco V, Burge PS, Calverley PM, Celli BR, Jones PW, Mahler DA, Make B, Miravitlles M, Page CP, Palange P, Parr D, Pistolesi M, Rennard SI, Rutten-van Mölken MP, Stockley R, Sullivan SD, Wedzicha JA, Wouters EF. (2008). American Thoracic Society; European Respiratory Society Task Force on outcomes of COPD Eur Respir J. 31: 416–469.
Charlson ME, Pompei P, Ales KL, MacKenzie CR. (1987). J Chronic Dis. 40: 373–383.
Fletcher C, Peto R. (1977). Br Med J. 1: 1645–1648.
Folestein MF, Folestein SE, McHugh PR. (1975). J Psychiatr Res. 12: 189–198.
Fukuchi Y, Nishimura M, Ichinose M, Adachi M, Nagai A, Kuriyama T, Takahashi K, Nishimura K, Ishioka S, Aizawa H, Zaher C. (2004). Respirology. 9: 458–465.
Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease. (GOLD). Global Strategy for Diagnosis, Management, and Prevention of COPD Updated 2007. Available at: http://www.goldcopd.org/
Hiratuka T, Kida K. (1993). Int Med. 32: 836–836.
Hyland ME, Sodergren SC. (2005). In: Ahmedzai SH, Muers MF (ed.) Supportive Care in Respiratory Disease. Oxford University Press, New York, pp. 57–66.
Ikegami N, Campbell JC. (1995). N Engl J Med. 333: 1295–1299.
Ionescu AA, Schoon E. (2003). Eur Respir J. 22: 64S–75S.
Jones PW, Quirk FH, Baveystock CM, Littlejohns P. (1992). Am Rev Respir Dis. 145: 1321–1327.
Katsura H, Kida K. (2002). Chest. 122: 1949–1955.
Katsura H, Yamada K, Kida K. (2003). J Am Geriatr Soc. 51: 1131–1135.
Kida K, Motegi T. (2000). Kokyu. 19: 1235–1247.(in Japanese)
Kida K, Wakabayashi R, Mizuuchi T, Murata A. (2006). Intern Med. 45: 1201–1207.
Liang J, Asano H, Bollen KA, Kahana EF, Maeda D. (1987). J Gerontol. 42: 37–43.
Lopez AD, Mathers CD, Ezzati M, Jamison DT, Murray CJL. (2006). Global Burden of Disease and Risk Factors. The World Bank, Washington.
Lutz W, Sanderson W, Scherbov S. (2008). Nature. 451: 716–719.
Lynn J. (2001). JAMA. 285: 925–932.
Martinez FJ, Curtis JL, Sciurba F, Mumford J, Giardino ND, Weinmann G, Kazerooni E, Murray S, Criner GJ, Sin DD, Hogg J, Ries AL, Han M, Fishman AP, Make B, Hoffman EA, Mohsenifar Z, Wise R; National Emphysema Treatment Trial Research Group. (2007). Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 176: 243–252.
McGarvey LP, John M, Anderson JA, Zvarich M, Wise RA; TORCH Clinical Endpoint Committee. (2007). Thorax. 62: 411–415.
McGavin CR, Artvinli M, Naoe H, McHardy GJ. (1978). Br Med J. 2: 241–243.
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. (2005). Patient Survey.
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. (2006). Vital statistics.
Moussavi S, Chatterji S, Verdes E, Tandon A, Patel V, Ustun B. (2007). Lancet. 370: 851–858.
Patel V, Araya R, Bolton P. (2004). Trop Med Int Health. 9: 539–541.
Price DB, Tinkelman DG, Nordyke RJ, Isonaka S, Halbert RJ; COPD Questionnaire Study Group. (2006). Chest. 129: 1531–1539.
Qaseem A, Snow V, Shekelle P, Sherif K, Wilt TJ, Weinberger S, Owens DK; Clinical Efficacy Assessment Subcommittee of the American College of Physicians. (2007). Ann Intern Med. 147: 633–638.
Sanders MH, Newman AB, Haggerty CL, Redline S, Lebowitz M, Samet J, O'Connor GT, Punjabi NM, Shahar E. (2003). Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 167: 7–14.
Schünemann HJ, Goldstein R, Mador MJ, McKim D, Stahl E, Griffith LE, Bayoumi AM, Austin P, Guyatt GH. (2006). Qual Life Res. 15: 1–14.
Seyama K, Nukiwa T, Takabe K, Takahashi H, Miyake K, Kira S. (1991). J Biol Chem. 266: 12627–12632.
Steg PG, Bhatt DL, Wilson PW, D'Agostino R Sr, Ohman EM, Röther J, Liau CS, Hirsch AT, Mas JL, Ikeda Y, Pencina MJ, Goto S; REACH Registry Investigators. (2007). JAMA 297: 1197–1206.
The Japanese Respiratory Society. (2004). Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), 2nd ed. Available at: http://www.jrs.or.jp/home/modules/english/index.php?content_id = 15.
The Japanese Respiratory Society. (2006). Japanese White Paper on Home Respiratory Care. Available at: http://www.jrs.or.jp/home/modules/english/index.php?content_id = 15.
Voelker R. (1999). JAMA. 281: 1262.
Wakabayashi R, Katsura H, Yamada K, Motegi T, Omata M, Nishimura N, Goto R, Kida K. (2003). Eur Respir J. 22: 169s.
Yohannes AM. (2005). Br J Community Nurs. 10: 42–46.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2010 Springer Science+Business Media LLC
About this entry
Cite this entry
Kida, K., Motegi, T., Ishii, T., Yamada, K. (2010). Quality of Life Measures in Elderly Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Japanese Perspectives. In: Preedy, V.R., Watson, R.R. (eds) Handbook of Disease Burdens and Quality of Life Measures. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-78665-0_161
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-78665-0_161
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-0-387-78664-3
Online ISBN: 978-0-387-78665-0
eBook Packages: MedicineReference Module Medicine