Functional assessments and HRQoL questionnaires demonstrated reduced capacity in cardiac and pulmonary patients compared to healthy controls, such as a median 6MWT distance of 368 m and 311 m vs 432 m.
Observational (n=189)
No
Do HRQoL questionnaires and functional assessments differentiate between healthy individuals and those with cardiac or pulmonary disease in East African adults?
Standard HRQoL questionnaires and functional assessments effectively differentiate between healthy individuals and those with cardiopulmonary disease in an East African cohort, supporting their regional use.
Abstract Rationale Cardiopulmonary diseases are major contributors to global morbidity and mortality. In low resource settings simple, scalable assessment tools for patient-related outcomes are essential. Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) questionnaires and functional assessments such as the 6-Minute Walk Test (6MWT), Sit-to-Stand Test (STS), and handgrip dynamometry are practical ways to evaluate physical health and its impact on quality of life. This study aimed to evaluate these measures among East African adults by comparing results among individuals with heart or lung disease relative to healthy peers. Methods A prospective study was conducted among 189 adults attending Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital: 30 with cardiac disease, 30 with pulmonary disease, 120 healthy controls, and 9 with mixed disease. The St. George’s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ), Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ-12), and World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF), 6MWT, STS, and handgrip dynamometry were administered by study staff. Descriptive summary statistics and boxplots of functional and HRQoL measures are presented for each disease group. Results The cohort was 49.2% female, with a mean ± SD age of 48.4 ± 16.5 years. 6MWT median (Q1-Q3) distance walked was 432 m (404.5-465.0) in controls, 368 m (318-423) in cardiac patients, and 311 m (298-390) in pulmonary patients. In STS, controls performed the most repetitions (23.9 ± 3.8), followed by cardiac (20.9 ± 3.0) and pulmonary patients (18.7 ± 4.1). Handgrip strength was highest in controls (36.7 ± 10.8), while pulmonary patients had the lowest (30.1 ± 7.4). Quality-of-life scores showed similar results: mean SGRQ total score was 0.3 ± 0.6 in controls, 5.7 ± 4.0 in cardiac, and 12.8 ± 4.7 in pulmonary groups; KCCQ-12 physical limitation scores were 99.6 ± 1.7, 82.5 ± 16.3, and 74.3 ± 18.0, respectively. WHOQOL-BREF physical domain scores were lowest in pulmonary participants (55.2 ± 9.8), followed by cardiac participants (60.1 ± 8.1) and controls (78.1 ± 6.4). Boxplots illustrate differences in functional and HRQoL between groups. Conclusion HRQoL questionnaires and functional assessments showed differences between healthy individuals and those with cardiac and pulmonary disease in this East African cohort. While limited by sample size and single-center design, these results provide support for using these measures in studies of pulmonary and cardiac disease in Kenya and for region-specific standards. Further research is needed to further validate reference equations and evaluation of functional assessments in larger cohorts. This abstract is funded by: Hubert Yeargan center for Global Health
Kimani et al. (Fri,) conducted a observational in Cardiac and pulmonary disease (n=189). Functional assessments and HRQoL questionnaires vs. Healthy controls was evaluated on Functional and HRQoL measures (6MWT, STS, handgrip strength, SGRQ, KCCQ-12, WHOQOL-BREF). Functional assessments and HRQoL questionnaires demonstrated reduced capacity in cardiac and pulmonary patients compared to healthy controls, such as a median 6MWT distance of 368 m and 311 m vs 432 m.