• David C Currow, Sungwon Chang, GrandeEleonora DalEDUniversity of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia., Diana H Ferreira, Slavica Kochovska, Irina Kinchin, Miriam J Johnson, and Magnus Ekstrom.
• IMPACCT, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; Wolfson Palliative Care Research Centre, University of Hull, Hull, England. Electronic address: david.currow@uts.edu.au.
• J Pain Symptom Manage. 2020 Oct 1; 60 (4): 818-827.e4.

IntroductionChronic breathlessness is associated with poorer quality of life (QoL). This population study aimed to define dimensions of QoL and duration and dominant causes of breathlessness that most diminished QoL.MethodsThis cross-sectional, population-based, and randomized survey of adults (n = 2977) in South Australia collected data on demographics, modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) breathlessness, and QoL (EuroQoL five-dimension five-level [EQ-5D-5L] measure; Short Form 12 quality-of-life measure). Data weighted to the census were analyzed for relationships between EQ-5D-5L and its dimensions with mMRC. Regression models controlled for age, sex, education, rurality, and body mass index.ResultsAbout 2883 responses were analyzed: 49% were males; mean age was 48 years (SD 19). As mMRC worsened, EQ-5D-5L and its dimensions worsened. More severe chronic breathlessness was iteratively associated with lower mobility, daily activities, and worse pain/discomfort. For self-care and anxiety/depression, impairment was only with the most severe breathlessness. Respondents who had chronic breathlessness for two to six years had the worst QoL scores. People who attributed their breathlessness to cardiac failure had poorer QoL. Respondents who reported a cardiac cause for their breathlessness had worse mobility, poorer usual activities, and more pain than the other causes. The regression analyses showed that worse chronic breathlessness was associated with worsening QoL in each dimension of EQ-5D-5L, with the exception of the self-care, which only worsened with the most severe breathlessness.ConclusionsThis is the first study to report on chronic breathlessness and impairment across dimensions of QoL and differences by its duration. Mobility, usual activity, and pain drive these reductions.Copyright © 2020 American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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