Table 1.
Characteristics of 151 survey respondents with long-term oxygen therapy
| Characteristic | All Respondents (n = 151) | Worse Quality of Life (n = 72) | Better Quality of Life (n = 79) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, mean (SD), yr | 74.7 (8.6) | 74.5 (9.0) | 74.8 (8.4) |
| Women, n (%) | 89 (58.9%) | 41 (57.0%) | 48 (60.8%) |
| BMI, mean (SD), kg/m2 | 26.9 (7.2) | 25.7 (7.1) | 27.9 (7.2) |
| Cause for starting LTOT (grouped), n (%) | |||
| Airway disease | 113 (74.8%) | 53 (73.6%) | 60 (75.9%) |
| Parenchymal lung disease | 20 (13.2%) | 14 (19.4%) | 6 (7.6%) |
| Other | 17 (11.3%) | 5 (6.9%) | 12 (15.2%) |
| Missing | 1 (0.67%) | 0 (0%) | 1 (1.3%) |
| Living situation, n (%) | |||
| House | 65 (43.0%) | 27 (37.5%) | 38 (48.1%) |
| Apartment | 76 (50.3%) | 38 (52.8%) | 38 (48.1%) |
| Assisted care facility | 10 (6.6%) | 7 (9.7%) | 3 (3.8%) |
| Missing | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) |
| Social situation, n (%) | |||
| Cohabitating partner | 91 (60.7%) | 44 (61.1%) | 47 (59.5%) |
| Non-cohabitating partner | 8 (5.3%) | 2 (2.8%) | 6 (7.6%) |
| No partner | 51 (34.0%) | 25 (34.7%) | 26 (32.9%) |
| Missing | 1 (0.67%) | 1 (1.4%) | 0 (0%) |
| Oxygen equipment, n (%) | |||
| Stationary oxygen concentrator | 140 (92.7%) | 68 (94.4%) | 72 (91.1%) |
| Portable oxygen concentrator | 111 (73.5%) | 53 (73.6%) | 58 (73.4%) |
| Compressed gas cylinders | 10 (6.6%) | 4 (5.6%) | 6 (7.6%) |
| Liquid oxygen | 9 (6.0%) | 1 (1.4%) | 8 (10.1%) |
| Nasal cannula | 147 (97.4%) | 72 (100.0%) | 75 (94.9%) |
| Oxygen mask | 24 (15.9%) | 7 (9.7%) | 17 (21.5%) |
| High flow cannula | 7 (4.6%) | 2 (2.8%) | 5 (6.3%) |
| Years since LTOT start, median (IQR) | 2.2 (1.0–3.8) | 2.4 (1.2–3.5) | 1.7 (0.9–4.4) |
| Reported oxygen prescription, median (IQR) | |||
| Time (h/d) | 24 (16–24) | 24 (16–24) | 21.5 (16–24) |
| Flow rate (l/min) | 2 (1.1–3) | 2 (1.5–3) | 2 (1–2.75) |
| Variable flow, daytime, L/min | 2 (1.5–3) | 2 (1.5–3) | 2 (1.5–3) |
| Variable flow, nighttime, L/min | 2 (1.5–2.75) | 2 (1.5–2.5) | 2 (1.5–3) |
| Variable flow, effort, L/min | 3 (2–4) | 2.25 (1.75–3.5) | 3 (2.5–4) |
| Reported oxygen use, median (IQR) | |||
| Time, h/d | 24 (17–24) | 24 (20–24) | 23 (16–24) |
| Flow rate, L/min | 2 (1.35–3) | 2 (1.5–3) | 2 (1–3) |
| Variable flow, daytime, L/min | 2 (1.3–2.875) | 2 (1.5–3) | 2 (1–2.5) |
| Variable flow, nighttime, L/min | 2 (1.5–2.75) | 2 (1.5–3) | 2 (1–2.5) |
| Variable flow, effort, L/min | 3 (2–4) | 2.5 (2–4) | 3 (2–4) |
| Oxygen use during nighttime | 145 (96.0%) | 68 (94.4%) | 77 (97.5%) |
| Sleep quality, n (%) | |||
| Very good | 22 (14.6%) | 8 (11.1%) | 14 (17.7%) |
| Good | 51 (33.8%) | 20 (27.7%) | 31 (39.2%) |
| Fairly good | 57 (37.7%) | 27 (37.5%) | 30 (38.0%) |
| Poor | 17 (11.3%) | 14 (19.4%) | 3 (3.8%) |
| Very poor | 4 (2.6%) | 3 (4.2%) | 1 (1.3%) |
| Missing | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) |
| Sleep time, median (IQR), h | 7 (6–8) | 7 (6–8) | 7 (6–8) |
| Smoking status, n (%) | |||
| Never-smoker | 23 (15.5%) | 11 (15.3%) | 12 (15.2%) |
| Ever-Smoker | 124 (82.1%) | 60 (83.3%) | 65 (82.3%) |
| Missing | 4 (2.6%) | 1 (1.4%) | 3 (3.8%) |
| Alcohol, median (IQR), weekly standard units | 0 (0–1.8) | 0 (0–0.25) | 0 (0–3) |
| HrQoL, mean (SD) | |||
| CAT | 24.0 (6.7) | 29.6 (3.4) | 18.9 (4.5) |
| EQ-VAS | 40.0 (19.8) | 32.2 (16.4) | 48.4 (19.7) |
| SF-12 MCS | 40.9 (13.2) | 34.5 (12.7) | 46.9 (10.7) |
| SF-12 PCS | 27.0 (8.5) | 25.0 (7.4) | 28.8 (9.0) |
Definition of abbreviations: BMI = body mass index; CAT = chronic obstructive pulmonary disease assessment test; EQ-VAS = EuroQoL visual analogue scale; HrQoL = health-related quality of life; IQR = interquartile range; LTOT = long-term oxygen therapy; MCS = mental component summary; PCS = physical component summary; SD = standard deviation; SF-12 = short form-12.
Characteristics of patients with better and worse HrQoL were compared using Student’s t test (continuous variables with normal distributions), the Mann-Whitney U test (ordinal and continuous variables with nonnormal distributions), and Fisher exact test (categorical variables).