Changes in and predictors of pain and mortality in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Analysis of the Current State of COPD Nursing Based on a Bibliometric Approach from the Web of Science

Background and Aim

COPD nursing plays a crucial role in alleviating disease symptoms, prolonging patient survival, and is therefore of paramount importance. However, authoritative research findings, research hotspots, and development trends in the field of COPD are still unclear. This study aimed to examine authoritative research findings, research hotspots, and trends in the field of COPD nursing. Descriptive statistics and bibliometric and visual analyses of the literature were conducted.

Methods

Bibliometric data were obtained from the Web of Science database. Citespace was used to explore publication trends, countries, institutions, journals, authors, keywords, and co-citation characteristics of the included literature in order to summarize the key research in the field of COPD nursing.

Results

In total, 693 articles on COPD nursing were published. 1998-2014 showed a rapid growth period in this research field, which stabilized in 2015-2022. The research content could mostly be summarized into five categories: acute exacerbation, quality of life, risk, evidence-based nursing, and pulmonary rehabilitation. The research hotspots in 1998-2014 included randomized controlled trials, education, elderly patients, nursing home residents, nursing homes, rehabilitation, and prevalence. Research in 2015-2022 focused on impact, palliative care, needs, and predictors. In recent years, research mainly concentrated on symptom management models, cost-effectiveness, and cumulative meta-analysis.

Conclusion

Bibliometric analysis of COPD nursing articles indicates that the focus of COPD nursing research is shifting from tertiary prevention to primary and secondary prevention. Helping patients achieve self-management of symptoms, reducing the financial burden of COPD on healthcare, and summarizing research evidence by meta-analyses will likely remain the focus of future research.

Asthma Is Associated with Back Pain and Migraine-Results of Population-Based Case-Control Study

(1) Background: Worldwide, asthma, back pain, and migraine are major public health problems due to their high prevalence, effect on the quality of life, and huge economic costs. The association of asthma with an increased risk of these types of pain has been suggested; however, no conclusive results have been obtained to date. The aims of our study were (1) to describe and compare the prevalence of three types of pain localization, namely migraine or frequent headaches (MFH), chronic neck pain (CNP), and chronic low back pain (CLBP), in adults with and without asthma in Spain during the years 2014 and 2020 and (2) to identify which variables were associated with the presence of these types of pain in adults with asthma. (2) Methods: A cross-sectional study and a case-control study were conducted. The 2014 and 2020 European Health Interview Surveys for Spain were used as the data source. (3) Results: A total of 2463 individuals were interviewed and had self-reported asthma. In this group, the prevalence of pain was high, with CLBP (30.9%) being the most common, followed by CNP (26.7%) and MFH (13.3%). All types of pain remained stable from 2014 to 2020. In both surveys, the women with asthma reported a remarkably higher prevalence of all the types of pain analyzed than the men with asthma. After matching by age and sex, the prevalence of all pain types was significantly higher in the patients with asthma than in the matched individuals without asthma. Multivariable adjustment showed that asthma increased the likelihood of CNP by 1.45 times (OR 1.45; 95% CI 1.19-1.76), that of CLBP by 1.37 times (OR 1.37; 95% CI 1.11-1.64), and that of MFH by 1.19 times (OR 1.19; 95% CI 1.02-1.51). The three types of pain analyzed were associated with the female sex and worse self-rated health. (4) Conclusions: Among the men and women with asthma, the prevalence of all the pain types was high and remained stable over time. The prevalence was higher and the severity was greater among the women with asthma than among the men with asthma. The prevalence of any pain was significantly higher in people with asthma than in the sex-age-matched individuals without asthma. Multivariable analysis showed that the variables associated with the reporting of the three types of pain in people with asthma were female sex, worse self-reported health, and self-reported mental illness.

Are respiratory disorders risk factors for troublesome neck/shoulder pain? A study of a general population cohort in Sweden

PURPOSE

The etiology of neck/shoulder pain is complex. Our purpose was to investigate if respiratory disorders are risk factors for troublesome neck/shoulder pain in people with no or occasional neck/shoulder pain.

METHODS

This prospective cohort study was based on the Stockholm Public Health Cohorts (SPHC) 2006/2010 and the SPHC 2010/2014. We included adults who at baseline reported no or occasional neck/shoulder pain in the last six months, from the two subsamples (SPHC 06/10 n = 15 155: and SPHC 2010/14 n = 25 273). Exposures were self-reported asthma at baseline in SPHC 06/10 and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) at baseline in SPHC 10/14. The outcome was having experienced at least one period of troublesome neck/shoulder pain which restricted work capacity or hindered daily activities to some or to a high degree during the past six months, asked for four years later. Binomial regression analyses were used to calculate risk ratios (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI).

RESULTS

Adjusted results indicate that those reporting to suffer from asthma at baseline had a higher risk of troublesome neck/shoulder pain at follow-up four years later (RR 1.48, 95% CI 1.10-2.01) as did those reporting to suffer from COPD (RR 2.12 95%CI 1.54-2.93).

CONCLUSION

Our findings indicate that those with no or occasional neck/shoulder pain and reporting to suffer from asthma or COPD increase the risk for troublesome neck/shoulder pain over time. This highlights the importance of taking a multi-morbidity perspective into consideration in health care. Future longitudinal studies are needed to confirm our findings.

Stability of distinct symptom experiences in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

PURPOSE

This study aimed to examine reclassification rates among classes of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients based on their distinct symptom experiences and to assess how these subgroups differed in symptom scores and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) outcomes over one year. Moreover, we wished to assess how these subgroups differed in demographic and clinical characteristics at 12 months.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

This is a follow-up study of 267 patients with moderate, severe, and very severe COPD. Based on their distinct symptom experiences using the Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale (MSAS), three subgroups (i.e., "high", "intermediate", and "low") were identified at baseline. In the present study, transitions between the subgroups at three, six, nine, and 12 months were investigated and calculated as reclassification rates. Differences among the subgroups in symptom scores and HRQoL at each time point and demographic and clinical characteristics at 12 months were evaluated using analysis of variance with post hoc comparisons.

RESULTS

Almost 65% were still in the "high" class after 12 months. At 12 months, pairwise comparisons for respiratory function measurements were not significantly different. Compared to the "intermediate" and "low" class, patients in the "high" class were more likely to be women and had significantly more comorbidities, reported a significantly higher number of symptoms at all time points, and worse HRQoL scores.

CONCLUSION

Our findings suggest that the pattern of a high symptom burden in COPD is consistent over time. The patients' individual symptom experiences should be the primary focus of treatment.