The Particulars: The roles of sociodemographics, lung function, smoking status, and comorbid diseases have been included in models investigating health status and health-related quality of life in patients with COPD. Little is known about the roles played by geriatric syndromes and dependency in activities of daily living (ADLs).

Data Breakdown: For a study, researchers investigated the prevalence of geriatric syndromes and ADL dependency, and their associations with baseline and 2-year changes in health status, among patients aged 51 or older with COPD. The presence of two or more geriatric syndromes was associated with higher odds of “fair” or “poor” baseline health status and with 2-year worsening health status. ADL dependency was associated with higher odds of “fair” or “poor” baseline health status but not with 2-year worsening health status.

Take Home Pearl: Geriatric syndromes and ADL dependency appear to be important factors that can impact health status in patients with COPD.

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