Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Health-Related Quality of Life in the 2009 Texas Behavioral Risk Factor Survey

Introduction. Individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) experience irreversible airflow obstruction, dyspnea, coughing, and fatigue. One of the goals of treating individuals with COPD is to improve their quality of life. The aim of this research was to evaluate the 2009 Texas Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) as a method for surveillance of COPD by identifying factors associated with impaired health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among respondents with COPD as well as comment on differences between the COPD and non-COPD population in a state representative sample. Method. Data from 348 COPD respondents were obtained from the 2009 Texas BRFSS. The Andersen behavior model was used to categorize variables as predisposing characteristics, health behaviors, and health service utilization. Self-rated health (SRH) was the HRQoL indicator used in this analysis. Chi-square tests were used to examine differences between COPD and non-COPD respondents. The relation between SRH and risk factors were modeled using domain analysis and logistic regressions. All analyses incorporated the sample weights to be representative of the state population. Results. Adults with COPD reported significantly worse SRH than adults who did not have COPD (p <.001). Among respondents with COPD, the predisposing characteristics associated with impaired HRQoL were obesity, education, and asthma; the health practices and service utilization factors associated with HRQoL included smoking, physical inactivity, having a health plan, and the inability to see a doctor because of costs. Conclusions. The Texas COPD population experienced increased risk of impaired SRH compared with the non-COPD population. The findings from our population-level survey study are similar to results observed at the clinical level.