TABLE 2.
COMMONLY USED DYSPNEA MEASURES
| Measure | Description | Validity Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| British Medical Research Council (MRC) | Five yes/no questions about shortness of breath. Requires recall. Higher score indicates more shortness of breath. | r = −0.53 with other dyspnea measures, r = −0.42 with FEV1.0 |
| American Thoracic Society Respiratory Questionnaire | Five yes/no items. Similar to MRC, but asks about magnitude of effort and impairment. Requires recall. Higher score indicates more impairment. | r = 0.50 with MRC questionnaire |
| Baseline and Transition Dyspnea Indexes (BDI-TDI) (57) | Single ratings in three categories. Ratings of transition require recall of baseline dyspnea. Higher score indicates more dypsnea. | r = 0.53 with other dyspnea indexes, r = 0.60 with six-minute-walk distance |
| Modified Dyspnea Index (58) | Ratings for impairment at work and impairment at home. Similar to BDI. Requires recall. Higher score indicates more impairment. | r = 0.71 with FEV1.0 |
| Oxygen Cost Diagram (OCD) (59) | Ratings of breathlessness with different activities on 10-cm line associated with activities of daily living. Requires recall. Higher score indicates more breathlessness. | r = 0.68 with six-minute-walk distance, r = −053 to −0.79 with other dyspnea measures |
| Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) (60) | 10-cm line to rate perceived symptom associated with exercise or physical stimulus. This measure does not require recall—ratings are taken during activity. Higher score indicates greater severity of symptom. | r = −0.85 with peak expiratory flow rate |
| Borg scale (61) | Rating scale of 0 to 10 for rating intensity of breathlessness on 1–10 log scale. This measure does not require recall—ratings are taken during activity. Higher score indicates greater breathlessness. | r with FEV1.0 = 0.88 |
| University of California, San Diego, Shortness of Breath Questionnaire (UCSD-SOBQ) (12) | Self-ratings of breathlessness for 21 various daily activities (plus 3 overall items) on a 6-point scale from none at all (0) to severe (4) to maximal or unable to do because of breathlessness (5). | r = −0.40 with QWB, −0.68 with six-minute-walk distance, −0.67 with Dlco % predicted |