The effect of bronchial hyperreactivity on the quality of life of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Background. In chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), in addition to clinical and functional parameters, quality of life (QOL) is a very important characteristic that affects many features of the course of the disease. Therefore, it seems important to study various factors that have impact on QOL. There is no evidence of a relationship between QOL and bronchial hyperreactivity (BHR) in COPD. Objective. Assessment of the impact of BHR on QOL of COPD patients. Methods. Clinical and functional indicators, QOL parameters depending on the level of bronchial reactivity were analyzed in 139 patients with moderate COPD. According to the level of bronchial reactivity, COPD patients were divided into 2 groups: group 1 - 95 people with BHR, group 2 - 44 patients without BHR. Both groups did not differ significantly in the severity of bronchial obstruction. Results. For all domains of the questionnaire, QOL was worse by 14.6-25.2 points (p<0.05) in patients with BHRcompared with patients without BHR. The adverse modifying effect of BHR on the QOL of COPD patients was confirmed by a correlation dependence (p -0,47 to -0.51; p<0.001). The results of the study showed that the dominant factor determining QOL of COPD patients is dyspnea. The second most important factor deteriorating QOL is the level of bronchial reactivity, which largely determines the severity of dyspnea in COPD patients. Conclusion. BHR has a pronounced negative effect on the QOL of COPD patients, worsening the subjective assessment of the disease symptoms, the psycho-emotional status and perception of the disease by patient. Reducing the level of BHR should be considered as one of the most important therapeutic targets for COPD therapy, aimed at improving the QOL of COPD patients.

chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, bronchial hyperreactivity, quality of life