Risk stratification for COPD diagnosis through an active search strategy in primary care

Utility of Self-Administered Questionnaires for Identifying Individuals at Risk of COPD in Japan: The OCEAN (Okinawa COPD casE finding AssessmeNt) Study

Purpose

A considerable proportion of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) remain undiagnosed and untreated even though they may have a burden of respiratory symptoms that impact quality of life. The OCEAN study assessed the ability of screening questionnaires to identify individuals with, or at risk of, COPD by comparing questionnaire outcomes with spirometric measures of lung function.

Methods

This observational study included participants ≥40 years of age presenting for their annual health examination at a single medical center in Okinawa, Japan. Participants completed COPD screening questionnaires (CAPTURE and COPD-Q), the Chronic Airways Assessment Test (CAAT), and general demographic and health-related questionnaires. The performance characteristics of CAPTURE and COPD-Q were compared with spirometry-based airflow limitation by calculating the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC-AUC) curve.

Results

A total of 2518 participants were included in the study; 79% of whom were <60 years of age (mean 52.0 years). A total of 52 (2.1%) participants had airflow limitation defined as forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV₁)/forced vital capacity (FVC) <0.7, and 420 (16.7%) participants were classified as Preserved Ratio Impaired Spirometry (PRISm). Among participants with PRISm, 75 (17.9%) had a CAAT total score ≥10. Airflow limitation and PRISm were more prevalent in current smokers versus past smokers. For the CAPTURE questionnaire, ROC-AUC for screening airflow limitation, PRISm, and PRISm with a CAAT total score ≥10 were 0.59, 0.55, and 0.69, respectively; for COPD-Q, these three clinical features were 0.67, 0.58 and 0.68, respectively.

Conclusion

This study demonstrated that CAPTURE and COPD-Q appear to be effective screening tools for identifying symptomatic individuals with undiagnosed, or at risk of developing COPD in adults ≥40 years of age in Okinawa. Furthermore, early diagnosis and management of PRISm is important to improve future outcomes and the societal burden of disease.

Risk Factors for Depression in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Background

Depression is a major comorbidity in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The aim of this prospective study was to investigate socio-demographic and clinical factors and serum markers of inflammation, including cytokines that, may be a cause or an association with COPD-related depression.

Material/Methods

This study enrolled 53 patients who were hospitalized in the Department of Respiratory Medicine of Hefei First People’s Hospital, China between October 2015 and October 2016. Patients were consecutively recruited who were diagnosed with COPD and without lower respiratory tract disease, psychiatric disorders, or a family history of cognitive disorders. All patients were investigated for symptoms of depression. Lung function testing included forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV₁). Serum levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were measured.

Results

Of the 53 patients with COPD, 40 (75.47%) patients had symptoms of depression. Univariate analysis showed that gender, smoking, a high level of education, duration of a cough, FEV₁, and serum CRP level were associated with depression. A multivariate logistic regression model identified two risk factors for depression in patients with COPD: serum CRP level and FEV₁.

Conclusions

The findings of this study showed that the risk factors for COPD-related depression included male gender, heavy smoking, higher academic qualifications, and duration of cough, but the two strongest risk factors were a high serum CRP level and low FEV₁.