Skip Navigation


Family Practice Advance Access originally published online on August 22, 2005
Family Practice 2006 23(1):34-39; doi:10.1093/fampra/cmi064
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
23/1/34    most recent
cmi064v1
Right arrow E-letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Huijnen, B.
Right arrow Articles by Knottnerus, A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Huijnen, B.
Right arrow Articles by Knottnerus, A.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author (2005). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Dyspnea in elderly family practice patients. Occurrence, severity, quality of life and mortality over an 8-year period

Bèr Huijnena, Frans van der Horsta, Ludovic van Amelsvoortb, Geertjan Wesselingc, Marieke Lansbergend, Pepijn Aartse, Nancy Nicolsonf and André Knottnerusa

a Department of General Practice, Maastricht University, b Department of Epidemiology, Maastricht University, c Department of Pulmonology, Academic Hospital Maastricht/Maastricht University, d MEMIC; Centre for Data and Information Management, Maastricht University, e Assistant in General Practice, Maastricht University and f Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, Maastricht University

Correspondence to Dr FG van der Horst, Department of General Practice/P. Deb1, Maastricht University, PO Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands; Email: frans.vanderhorst{at}hag.unimaas.nl

Background and objectives. This study examined the prevalence and severity of dyspnea in patients ≥70 years of age and its impact on the quality of life. We also examined the prognostic significance of dyspnea for mortality.

Methods. The cohort study started with a mailed questionnaire, supplemented with an interview. From the population of elderly patients in a family practice health center, a one in five sample (n = 124) was randomly selected, similar in age and sex distribution to those not in the sample. Demographic and other relevant variables were examined for their association with dyspnea. Cox proportional hazards ratio analysis was done with dyspnea (MRC, BDI scores) as independent and mortality as dependent variable.

Results. Baseline data indicated that 23% (MRC) to 37% (BDI) of the patients had moderate to severe dyspnea. Shortness of breath was associated with older age, poor perceived health, more anxiety and depressive symptoms, impaired daily functioning, and lower happiness. Moderate and severe dyspnea measured with BDI and MRC was a significant predictor of death within eight years due to cardiovascular or lung disease. Selective participation did not appear to have biased this outcome.

Conclusions. Dyspnea occurs frequently in the elderly, is associated with poor health, and interferes with daily functioning. Results suggest that dyspnea contributes to mortality. Development and implementation of guidelines would be highly desirable. Early diagnosis is valuable because this provides opportunities to positively influence the patient's functional condition.

Keywords. Dyspnea, health, daily functioning, quality of life, mortality.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.