Table 1.
Relationship between demographic characteristics and HRQoL in elderly patients with COPD.
| Variables | N (%) | HRQoL | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean ± SD | p value | |||
| Gender | Male | 162 (74.7) | 42.6 ± 18.5 | 0.04a |
| Female | 55 (25.3) | 37.1 ± 16.6 | ||
|
| ||||
| Marital status | Married | 175 (80.6) | 42.2 ± 18.6 | 0.12a |
| Divorced or widow | 42 (19.4) | 37.4 ± 15.5 | ||
|
| ||||
| Level of education | None | 132 (60.8) | 39.3 ± 17.0 | 0.04b |
| Primary and middle school | 64 (29.5) | 42.8 ± 19.0 | ||
| High school and any academic | 21 (9.7) | 49.0 ± 20.0 | ||
|
| ||||
| COPD type | Chronic bronchitis | 26 (12) | 43.9 ± 18.4 | |
| Emphysema | 24 (11.1) | 32.8 ± 18.2 | 0.07b | |
| Both | 167 (77) | 42.1 ± 17.9 | ||
|
| ||||
| Disease duration | Up to one year | 57 (26.3) | 45.0 ± 20.0 | 0.01b |
| 1 to 15 years | 131 (60.4) | 41.5 ± 17.7 | ||
| More than 15 years | 29 (13.4) | 32.5 ± 13.5 | ||
|
| ||||
| Number of hospitalizations in the past year | One | 75 (34.6) | 46.2 ± 19.4 | 0.001b |
| Two | 67 (30.9) | 42.0 ± 17.3 | ||
| Three | 36 (16.6) | 39.6 ± 16.0 | ||
| More than 3 | 39 (18.0) | 32.0 ± 15.7 | ||
|
| ||||
| Medication type | Bronchodilator | 120 (55.3) | 44.7 ± 18.8 | 0.002b |
| Corticosteroid | 2 (0.9) | 40.39 ± 5.3 | ||
| Both | 86 (39.6) | 35.9 ± 14.8 | ||
|
| ||||
| Comorbidity | Yes | 111 (51.2) | 40.5 ± 19.3 | 0.5,a |
| No | 106 (48.8) | 42.0 ± 17.0 | ||
|
| ||||
| Smoking history | Yes | 138 (63.6) | 40.7 ± 17.0 | 0.57a |
| No | 79 (36.4) | 42.2 ± 20.0 | ||
COPD: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; HRQoL: health-related quality of life. aIndependent samples t-test. bOne-way ANOVA.