• Michael Kreuter, Jeff Swigris, David Pittrow, Silke Geier, Jens Klotsche, Antje Prasse, Hubert Wirtz, Dirk Koschel, Stefan Andreas, Martin Claussen, Christian Grohé, Henrike Wilkens, Lars Hagmeyer, Dirk Skowasch, Joachim F Meyer, Joachim Kirschner, Sven Gläser, Nicolas Kahn, Tobias Welte, Claus Neurohr, Martin Schwaiblmair, Matthias Held, Thomas Bahmer, Tim Oqueka, Marion Frankenberger, and Jürgen Behr.
• Center for interstitial and rare lung diseases, Thoraxklinik, University of Heidelberg, Röntgenstr 1, D-69126, Heidelberg, Germany. kreuter@uni-heidelberg.de.
• Resp Res. 2019 Mar 15; 20 (1): 59.

BackgroundQuality of life (QoL) is profoundly impaired in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). However, data is limited regarding the course of QoL. We therefore analysed longitudinal data from the German INSIGHTS-IPF registry.MethodsClinical status and QoL were assessed at enrollment and subsequently at 6- to 12-months intervals. A range of different QoL questionnaires including the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) were used.ResultsData from 424 patients were included; 76.9% male; mean age 68.7 ± 9.1 years, mean FVC% predicted 75.9 ± 19.4, mean DLCO% predicted 36.1 ± 15.9. QoL worsened significantly during follow-up with higher total SGRQ scores (increased by 1.47 per year; 95% CI: 1.17 to 1.76; p < 0.001) and higher UCSD-SOBQ scores and lower EQ-5D VAS and WHO-5 scores. An absolute decline in FVC% predicted of > 10% was associated with a significant deterioration in SGRQ (increasing by 9.08 units; 95% CI: 2.48 to 15.67; p = 0.007), while patients with stable or improved FVC had no significantly change in SGRQ. Patients with a > 10% decrease of DLCO % predicted also had a significant increase in SGRQ (+ 7.79 units; 95% CI: 0.85 to 14.73; p = 0.028), while SQRQ was almost stable in patients with stable or improved DLCO. Patients who died had a significant greater increase in SGRQ total scores (mean 11.8 ± 18.6) at their last follow-up visit prior to death compared to survivors (mean 4.2 ± 18.9; HR = 1.03; 95% CI: 1.01 to 1.04; p < 0.001). All QoL scores across the follow-up period were significantly worse in hospitalised patients compared to non-hospitalised patients, with the worst scores reported in those hospitalised for acute exacerbations.ConclusionsQoL assessments in the INSIGHTS-IPF registry demonstrate a close relationship between QoL and clinically meaningful changes in lung function, comorbidities, disease duration and clinical course of IPF, including hospitalisation and mortality.

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