Revista Ciencias de la Salud (Jun 2007)
Quality of life and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Abstract
The Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease(COPD) has a progressive and irreversiblecharacter and it’s associated to the triad ofdyspnea, exercise limitation and the evidentdeterioration of quality of life. In the UnitedStates the prevalence of COPD in adult populationis approximately of 6% in men, and 1 to3% in women and it’s the fourth cause of mortalityby no transmissible chronic diseases. In1993, the National Health Interview Surgeryconsidered that 12 millions of Americans sufferfrom chronic bronchitis and 2 million hademphysema. These two affections are responsiblefor more than 13% of the hospitalizations.As this affection progresses, patients experience a diminution in quality of life related to health(CVRS), their capacity to work get worse andtheir participation in physical and social activitiesreduces. Nevertheless, it has been confirmedthat the isolated evaluation of COPDseriousness, defined by the reduction of theForced Expiratory Volume in the First Second(FEV1), does not provide enough informationto know the health state perceived by the patients.The fact that the CVRS is the result ofthe interaction of multiple physical, psychologicaland social factors, unique for each individual,can explain this finding. This paper is ageneral and updated approach to the integralhandling of patients with COPD, and it discussesthe concept of quality of life, related tohealth improvement.
