Prevalence of dyspnea in general adult populations: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Quality of life associated with breathlessness in the multinational Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease (BOLD) study: A cross-sectional analysis

INTRODUCTION

Evidence of an association between breathlessness and quality of life from population-based studies is limited. We aimed to investigate the association of both physical and mental quality of life with breathlessness across several low-, middle- and high-income countries.

METHODS

We analysed data from 19 714 adults (31 sites, 25 countries) from the Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease (BOLD) study. We measured both mental and physical quality of life components using the SF-12 questionnaire, and defined breathlessness as grade ≥2 on the modified Medical Research Council scale. We used multivariable linear regression to assess the association of each quality-of-life component with breathlessness. We pooled site-specific estimates using random-effects meta-analysis.

RESULTS

Both physical and mental component scores were lower in participants with breathlessness compared to those without. This association was stronger for the physical component (coefficient = -7.59; 95%CI -8.60, -6.58; I2 = 78.5%) than for the mental component (coefficient = -3.50; 95%CI -4.36, -2.63; I2 = 71.4%). The association between physical component and breathlessness was stronger in high-income countries (coefficient = -8.82; 95%CI -10.15, -7.50). Heterogeneity across sites was partly explained by sex and tobacco smoking.

CONCLUSION

Quality of life is worse in people with breathlessness, but this association varies widely across the world.

Association between lung function and dyspnoea and its variation in the multinational Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease (BOLD) study

BACKGROUND

Dyspnoea is a common symptom of respiratory disease. However, data on its prevalence in general populations and its association with lung function are limited and are mainly from high-income countries. The aims of this study were to estimate the prevalence of dyspnoea across several world regions, and to investigate the association of dyspnoea with lung function.

METHODS

Dyspnoea was assessed, and lung function measured in 25,806 adult participants of the multinational Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease study. Dyspnoea was defined as ≥2 on the modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) dyspnoea scale. The prevalence of dyspnoea was estimated for each of the study sites and compared across countries and world regions. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess the association of dyspnoea with lung function in each site. Results were then pooled using random-effects meta-analysis.

RESULTS

The prevalence of dyspnoea varied widely across sites without a clear geographical pattern. The mean prevalence of dyspnoea was 13.7 % (SD=8.2 %), ranging from 0 % in Mysore (India) to 28.8 % in Nampicuan-Talugtug (Philippines). Dyspnoea was strongly associated with both spirometry restriction (FVC

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of dyspnoea varies substantially across the world and is strongly associated with lung function impairment. Using the mMRC scale in epidemiological research should be discussed.

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Key Words

• Breathlessness
• Dyspnoea
• Lung function
• Spirometry

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MESH Headings

• Humans
• Dyspnea/epidemiology
• Dyspnea/physiopathology
• Dyspnea/etiology
• Male
• Female
• Middle Aged
• Prevalence
• Spirometry
• Adult
• Aged
• Vital Capacity
• Forced Expiratory Volume
• Respiratory Function Tests
• Global Health
• Lung/physiopathology
• Lung Diseases, Obstructive/physiopathology
• Lung Diseases, Obstructive/epidemiology
• Lung Diseases, Obstructive/complications
• Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive/physiopathology
• Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive/epidemiology
• Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive/complications
• Cross-Sectional Studies

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Affiliation(s)

A Müller Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Lung Health, Vienna, Austria Care and Public Health Research Institute, Faculty of Health Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands
E F Wouters Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Lung Health, Vienna, Austria Sigmund Freud University, Faculty of Medicine, Vienna, Austria Department of Respiratory Medicine, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, the Netherlands
P Koul Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Sheri Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, Srinagar, India
T Welte Department of Respiratory Medicine/Infectious Disease, Member of the German Centre for Lung Research, Hannover School of Medicine, Hannover, Germany
I Harrabi Faculté de Médecine, Sousse, Tunisia
A Rashid RCSI and UCD Malaysia Campus, Penang, Malaysia
L C Loh RUMC, Penang, Malaysia
M Al Ghobain King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, King Saud ben Abdulaziz University for Health Science, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
A Elsony The Epidemiological Laboratory, Khartoum, Sudan
R Ahmed The Epidemiological Laboratory, Khartoum, Sudan
J Potts National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK
K Mortimer University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, UK
F Rodrigues Pulmonology Department, Lisbon North Hospital Centre, Lisbon, Portugal Institute of Environmental Health, Associate Laboratory TERRA, Lisbon Medical School, Lisbon University, Lisbon, Portugal
S N Paraguas Philippine College of Chest Physicians, Manila, Philippines
S Juvekar KEM Hospital Research Centre, Pune, India
D Agarwal KEM Hospital Research Centre, Pune, India
D Obaseki Department of Medicine, Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Canada
T Gislason Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland Department of Sleep, Landspitali - The National University Hospital of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
T Seemungal Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of West Indies, St Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago
A A Nafees Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan
C Jenkins Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, Sydney, Australia
H B Dias Escola Superior de Tecnologia da Saúde de Lisboa, Politecnico de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
F M E Franssen Department of Respiratory Medicine, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, the Netherlands Department of Research and Development, Ciro, Horn, the Netherlands
M Studnicka Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria
C Janson Department of Medical Sciences: Respiratory, Allergy and Sleep Research, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
H H Cherkaski Faculty of Medicine, University Badji Mokhtar, Annaba, Algeria
M El Biaze Department of Respiratory Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Mohammed Ben Abdellah University, Fes, Morocco
P A Mahesh Department of Respiratory Medicine, JSS Medical College and Hospital, Mysore, Karnataka, India
J Cardoso Pulmonology Department, Centro Hospitalar Universitário de Lisboa Central, Lisboa, Portugal NOVA Medical School, Nova University Lisbon, Lisboa, Portugal
P Burney National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK
S Hartl Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Lung Health, Vienna, Austria Sigmund Freud University, Faculty of Medicine, Vienna, Austria
D J A Janssen Care and Public Health Research Institute, Faculty of Health Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands Department of Research and Development, Ciro, Horn, the Netherlands
A F S Amaral National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK NIHR Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, London, UK

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Breathlessness in the general population

PURPOSE OF THE REVIEW

Breathlessness is a prevalent symptom that significantly affects physical and mental health. While commonly associated with respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, breathlessness is increasingly recognised as a concern in the general population. This review summarises recent research on the prevalence, risk factors, assessment methods, and clinical and societal impact, with a focus on findings from the past 18 months.

RECENT FINDINGS

Recent studies indicate that breathlessness affects a substantial proportion of adults worldwide, with prevalence varying across populations and regions. Identified risk factors include older age, female sex, high body mass index, smoking, and comorbidities such as respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Novel approaches in assessing breathlessness are looking beyond unidimensional scales to improve diagnostic accuracy. However, breathlessness remains underdiagnosed in clinical practice. Recent publications also show that breathlessness has a substantial impact on health outcomes of the affected person, but also imposes a burden on their informal caregivers, health care systems and the economy.

SUMMARY

Despite progress in understanding chronic breathlessness, knowledge gaps persist, particularly regarding its assessment in large-population samples. Longitudinal studies are needed to understand risk factors for breathlessness and its impact on health outcomes and society.

Acute effects of fan therapy on exercise-induced breathlessness in healthy adults and people living with chronic respiratory disease: A systematic review

BACKGROUND

Exercise-induced breathlessness is a common complaint in the general population and a highly prevalent symptom in adults living with chronic diseases, often acting as an important barrier to engaging in physical activity. Fan therapy can reduce breathlessness at rest, yet its acute effects during exercise have not been systematically explored.

METHODS

A literature search encompassing three electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus, Embase) from inception to January 2025 was conducted to identify randomized controlled trials comparing fan therapy during and after an acute exercise bout to a control condition, on dyspnea and exercise capacity. Relevant conference abstracts were considered. Risk of bias was assessed via the Physiotherapy Evidence Database scale. The PRISMA guidelines were followed.

RESULTS

A total of six studies, including one conference abstract, met eligibility criteria. Five records involved 79 adults with chronic respiratory disease, all presenting a respiratory disease, and the remaining record included 10 healthy individuals. The results were generally consistent, showing that fan therapy significantly reduces exercise-induced breathlessness (n = 2 studies), decreases breathlessness during recovery (n = 5), and enhances exercise capacity (n = 2). The methodological quality was good for half or retrieved studies and poor-to-fair in the other half.

CONCLUSION

Fan therapy might relieve dyspnea and improve exercise capacity during and after an acute bout of exercise in patients with chronic respiratory disease. Future high-quality research should confirm these findings and consider assessing fan therapy effects in other populations. PROSPERO number: CRD42023475117.

Trajectories of Health-Related Quality of Life 2 Years After Mild/Moderate Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection in the Pre-Omicron Era

Background

Individuals with postacute sequelae of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), or long COVID, experience substantial burden of illness many months after initial infection. Few studies have comprehensively and longitudinally assessed health outcomes for people with long COVID following mild/moderate infection. We applied the Wilson-Cleary model of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) to describe the impact of long COVID on multiple health dimensions up to 24 months following mild/moderate COVID-19.

Methods

Participants within the ADAPT post-COVID study (N = 172, 86% mild/moderate infection) completed structured patient-reported outcome measures at 4, 8, 12, 18, and 24 months postinfection. Following the Wilson-Cleary model, questionnaires assessed symptoms (anxiety/depression, chronic fatigue, breathlessness), return to pre-COVID-19 functioning, perceived health status (EuroQol Visual Analogue Scale), and wellbeing (EuroQol EQ-5D-5L, Personal Wellbeing Index). Temporal trends were assessed using general estimating equations and ordinal logistic regression, including time × long COVID interactions.

Results

Thirty-seven percent of participants were diagnosed with long COVID (≥1 new/persisting symptoms of chest pain, breathlessness, or fatigue/malaise at least 12 weeks after infection). Long COVID was associated with poorer health outcomes across all domains at first assessment. Over 2 years, participants with long COVID reported improvement in return to pre-COVID-19 work and Somatic and Psychological Health Report chronic fatigue but sustained impairment was observed in all other health domains, compared to participants recovered from COVID-19.

Conclusions

Substantial long-term impairment in various health domains were observed for individuals with long COVID following mild/moderate initial infection, with little improvement over time in most. Multimodal interventions must address impairment in multiple domains of HRQOL in individuals with long COVID.

Effects of Physical Exercise on Walking Distance and Functional Limitations in Patients with Chronic Dyspnea

Background and Objectives: Chronic dyspnea is a common clinical manifestation in patients suffering from cardiovascular and respiratory diseases globally, representing an independent predictor of mortality for these patients. In addition, it may be a symptom associated with other conditions such as anemia, physical deconditioning, or anxiety. Methods: A prospective study was conducted, between 1 January 2021 and 30 June 2022, at the Medical Recovery Section from "Dr. Pop Mircea Municipal Hospital Pop Mircea" in Marghita. A total of 163 consecutive patients with chronic dyspnea of various etiologies were evaluated for inclusion in the study. Patients who met the inclusion criteria followed a personalized physical training program of variable duration (between 20 and 40 min) up to the limit of exercise tolerance (grade 3-4 modified Borg scale or up to 70% of maximum heart rate, calculated with the formula 220 age in years); the first 10 days, the training was supervised by a physiotherapist, then patients followed a program of 30 min of exercise 5 days/week at home for 3 months. Assessments, performed at inclusion and after 3 months of training, consisted of the 6 min walk test (6MWT) and the London Chest Activity of Daily Living (LCADL) scale. Results: Pulmonary etiology is the most common cause of dyspnea in the cohort (61.65%). The number of patients without ventilatory defects is 56, or 38.35%. The mean value of initial functional limitation (LCADL1) improved significantly after 3 months (LACDL2) of rehabilitation treatment (38% versus 26.5%); at the same time, the mean walking distance (6MWT) increased by 76 m. Conclusions: An adequate rehabilitation program and sedentary lifestyle change significantly reduce the functional limitation of the patient with chronic dyspnea and increase walking distance. Predictors for 6MWT gait test are age, LCADL score, dyspnea level, and cardiac etiology of chronic dyspnea.

Neural gating of respiratory sensations as a potential mechanism of dyspnea perception: State-of-the-art and future directions

CONTEXT

Dyspnea - the subjective experience of breathing discomfort - is a prevalent and debilitating symptom in various chronic conditions, featuring a complex interplay of sensory, cognitive, and emotional factors contributing to its perception. In recent years, growing evidence emerged for the importance of neural processing in shaping symptom experiences such as dyspnea.

OBJECTIVE

This frontiers review focuses on the neural gating of respiratory sensations (NGRS), as a potential neural mechanism underlying dyspnea perception. NGRS is measured by the repetition suppression of respiratory-related evoked potentials (RREP) elicited by paired inspiratory occlusions. NGRS may reflect the brain's capacity to filter redundant respiratory input, and reduced NGRS may constitute a biomarker for aversive dyspnea experience.

REVIEW

We summarize the current state-of-the-art on the relationships between NGRS and dyspnea, noting the inconsistent findings in healthy individuals along with promising evidence from clinical populations, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The inconsistent findings may be attributed to methodological limitations, including the significant variability in experimental designs and analytical choices hampering NGRS reliability, and the influence of top-down attention and expectations. In the final part of the review, we suggest future directions for the investigation of the NGRS-dyspnea relationship, including mechanistic research using advanced EEG analysis, mobile neuroimaging, and brain stimulation techniques to delineate the contributions of top-down and bottom-up mechanisms to NGRS.

CONCLUSIONS

By addressing the current knowledge gaps, this review forms a part of the concentrated effort to promote brain-based interventions for alleviating the distressing experience of chronic dyspnea.

A Personalized Multimodal BCI-Soft Robotics System for Rehabilitating Upper Limb Function in Chronic Stroke Patients

Multimodal brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) that combine electrical features from electroencephalography (EEG) and hemodynamic features from functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) have the potential to improve performance. In this paper, we propose a multimodal EEG- and fNIRS-based BCI system with soft robotic (BCI-SR) components for personalized stroke rehabilitation. We propose a novel method of personalizing rehabilitation by aligning each patient's specific abilities with the treatment options available. We collected 160 single trials of motor imagery using the multimodal BCI from 10 healthy participants. We identified a confounding effect of respiration in the fNIRS signal data collected. Hence, we propose to incorporate a breathing sensor to synchronize motor imagery (MI) cues with the participant's respiratory cycle. We found that implementing this respiration synchronization (RS) resulted in less dispersed readings of oxyhemoglobin (HbO). We then conducted a clinical trial on the personalized multimodal BCI-SR for stroke rehabilitation. Four chronic stroke patients were recruited to undergo 6 weeks of rehabilitation, three times per week, whereby the primary outcome was measured using upper-extremity Fugl-Meyer Motor Assessment (FMA) and Action Research Arm Test (ARAT) scores on weeks 0, 6, and 12. The results showed a striking coherence in the activation patterns in EEG and fNIRS across all patients. In addition, FMA and ARAT scores were significantly improved on week 12 relative to the pre-trial baseline, with mean gains of 8.75 ± 1.84 and 5.25 ± 2.17, respectively (mean ± SEM). These improvements were all better than the Standard Arm Therapy and BCI-SR group when retrospectively compared to previous clinical trials. These results suggest that personalizing the rehabilitation treatment leads to improved BCI performance compared to standard BCI-SR, and synchronizing motor imagery cues to respiration increased the consistency of HbO levels, leading to better motor imagery performance. These results showed that the proposed multimodal BCI-SR holds promise to better engage stroke patients and promote neuroplasticity for better motor improvements.

BreathCarer: Informal carers of patients with chronic breathlessness: a mixed-methods systematic review of burden, needs, coping, and support interventions

BACKGROUND

Breathlessness is a common symptom in chronic and advanced diseases, and it poses a significant burden to patients and to their informal carers. They play a crucial role in sustainable care for patients living with breathlessness, but their challenges and needs are often neglected.

OBJECTIVE

To provide a systematic overview of the literature on the burden, needs, coping and use of healthcare and social services by carers of patients suffering from chronic breathlessness due to any life-limiting disease.

DESIGN

A mixed-methods systematic review (PROSPERO CRD42022312989).

DATA SOURCES

Medline, CENTRAL, PsycINFO, and CINAHL were searched and complemented with forward and backward searches and expert consultation.

REVIEW METHODS

The mixed-methods review included any study on burden, needs and coping among carers of patients with breathlessness published from the inception of the databases until July 2023. A narrative analysis of the quantitative results and a pragmatic meta-aggregation of the qualitative findings were performed, followed by a mixed-methods convergent segregated approach.

FINDINGS

A total of 53 studies with 4,849 carers were included. Breathlessness is highly burdensome for carers who live with and care for patients or for those who do not live with the patients and care for them. Breathlessness is a significant risk factor for high carers' burden, contributing to deteriorating physical and mental health among carers and creating an urgent need for external support. A major challenge is the sense of being trapped in a state of constant alertness and anxiety, centred around managing the patient's breathlessness. Carers bear substantial emotional burden due to uncertainty, sleep disturbances, and social isolation, which leads to severe psychological distress. Their unmet needs for professional guidance, self-management strategies, and social interaction are high. While supportive interventions, such as specialized services and multidisciplinary approaches, can alleviate some of the burden, there remains a lack of targeted interventions specifically designed for carers.

CONCLUSIONS

This review highlights the substantial burden associated with caring for patients with chronic breathlessness, the unmet needs of carers and the lack of supportive care structures, leaving them with little option but to accept the situation.

Impact of Dyspnea on Adults With Respiratory Symptoms Without a Defined Diagnosis

BACKGROUND

We investigated dyspnea; its associated risk factors; and its impact on health care utilization, quality of life, and work productivity in adults with undiagnosed respiratory symptoms.

RESEARCH QUESTION

What is the impact of dyspnea in adults with undiagnosed respiratory symptoms?

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

This population-based study included 2,857 adults who were experiencing respiratory symptoms. These individuals had not been previously diagnosed with any lung conditions and were recruited from 17 Canadian centers using random digit dialing. Each participant underwent spirometry testing both before and after using a bronchodilator to determine if they met the diagnostic criteria for COPD, asthma, or preserved ratio impaired spirometry (PRISm), or if their spirometry results were normal. An age-matched control group (n = 231) was similarly recruited using random digit dialing. A dyspnea impact assessment score from 0 to 100 was produced using questions from the COPD Assessment Test and St. George's Respiratory questionnaire.

RESULTS

Individuals with PRISm (n = 172) reported more impactful dyspnea (mean score, 63.0; 95% CI, 59.5-66.4) than those with undiagnosed asthma (n = 265; mean score, 56.6; 95% CI, 53.9-59.3) or undiagnosed COPD (n = 330; mean score, 57.5; 95% CI, 55.1-59.9). All groups reported significantly more impactful dyspnea than the control group (mean score, 13.8; 95% CI, 11.8-15.7). Patient-specific risk factors including age, sex, BMI, smoking, and comorbidities explained 20.6% of the variation in dyspnea. An additional 12.4% of the variation was explained by disease classification and another 1.7% by the severity of lung function impairment assessed with spirometry. After adjusting for age, sex, and BMI, greater dyspnea impact was associated with increased health care utilization, lower quality of life, and reduced work productivity.

INTERPRETATION

Our findings showed that in community-based adults with undiagnosed respiratory symptoms, those identified with PRISm experienced the greatest impact of dyspnea. Dyspnea imposes burdens on the health care system and is associated with impaired quality of life and work productivity.

The ventilatory efficiency parameters outperform peak oxygen consumption in monitoring the therapy effects in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

AIM

We sought the cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) parameter that most accurately reflected therapeutic efficacy in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM).

METHODS

Well-being questionnaire, N-terminal brain natriuretic peptide measurements, echocardiography, and CPET were performed in patients with symptomatic non-obstructive HCM during phase II, randomized, open-label multicentre study, before and after 16 weeks of traditional or sacubitril/valsartan treatment. Patients were followed 36 months after the initial CPET. Primary endpoints were changes in: 1) peak oxygen consumption (VO2); 2) VO2 at anaerobic threshold (AT); 3) oxygen pulse; 4) minute ventilation (VE)/carbon-dioxide (CO2) production slope; 5) VE/VCO2 at AT (VE/VCO2_AT); 6) VE/VCO2 nadir; 7) VE/VCO2 intercept; and 8) partial end-tidal pressure of carbon-dioxide (PETCO2) change during CPET.

RESULTS

Of 115 screened patients, 61 (52 ± 14 years, 43 % women) were included. Within subject therapy effects were detected only by the VE/VCO2 intercept and PETCO2 change, whereas the differences between medical regimens were detected by differences in VE/VCO2 nadir and VE/VCO2_AT changes after the treatment. The best predictors of the change in well-being were left ventricular outflow tract maximal gradient and VE/VCO2 intercept (B = 0.41,0.36; SE = 0.16,0.30; CI = 0.14-0.79, 0.15-1.14; p = 0.006,0.016, respectively). Adverse cardiac events were best predicted by the initial VE/VCO2 nadir.

CONCLUSION

Ventilatory efficiency parameters outperform peak VO2 in gauging therapy effects in patients with HCM.

The occurrence mechanism, assessment, and non-pharmacological treatment of dyspnea

Dyspnea is a subjective sensation often described as a feeling of respiratory effort, tightness, or air hunger. The underlying mechanisms of this symptom are multifaceted and involve factors such as respiratory centers, cardiovascular system, airways, neuromuscular components, and metabolic factors, although not fully elucidated. The classical theory of imbalance between inspiratory neural drive (IND) and the simultaneous dynamic responses of the respiratory system posits that the disruption of a normal and harmonious relationship fundamentally shapes the expression of respiratory discomfort. Assessment and comprehensive treatment of dyspnea are crucial for patient rehabilitation, including subjective self-reporting and objective clinical measurements. Non-pharmacological interventions, such as pulmonary rehabilitation, fan therapy, exercise, chest wall vibration, virtual reality technology, traditional Chinese medicine (acupuncture and acupressure), and yoga, have shown promise in alleviating dyspnea symptoms. Additionally, oxygen therapy, has demonstrated short-term benefits for patients with pre-hospital respiratory distress and hypoxemia. This review provides a comprehensive overview of dyspnea, emphasizing the importance of a multifaceted approach for its assessment and management, with a focus on non-pharmacological interventions that contribute to enhanced patient outcomes and quality of life.

Descriptive Study on the Relationship between Dyspnea, Physical Performance, and Functionality in Oncology Patients

BACKGROUND

Cancer is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally. Dyspnea, affecting up to 60% of cancer patients, exacerbates physical and psychological distress, reducing quality of life. This study aims to explore the relationship between dyspnea and factors such as age, sex, clinical diagnosis, and treatment lines in cancer patients, with the goal of improving understanding and management of this debilitating symptom to enhance patient care and quality of life.

METHODS

This study employed an observational, cross-sectional, and descriptive approach to investigate patients with oncological disease at the University Hospital of Salamanca between March 2021 and April 2024. A convenience sample was selected, including patients over 18 years old with a pathological diagnosis of cancer, experiencing any degree of dyspnea, and who consented to participate by signing the informed consent. Exclusion criteria included lack of consent and clinical conditions that prevented an interview. The studied variables encompass sociodemographic (age, gender, diagnosis, tumor stage, number of treatment lines) and clinical aspects (daily activities, degree of dyspnea, functional capacity, physical performance), evaluated using the Barthel Index, the mMRC Dyspnea Scale, the ECOG Scale, and the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB). Data were collected through semistructured interviews and medical records, and analyzed using specialized software. This research has ethical approval CEiM Code 2023 12 1472, Reference 2024/01.

RESULTS

The mean age was 66.82 years. Lung cancer was predominant (60.2%), with most patients in stage 3 (65.7%) and receiving three treatment lines (68.7%). Higher age, advanced disease stage, and more treatment lines correlated with lower Barthel and SPPB scores, and higher ECOG and mMRC scores, indicating worse functionality, physical performance, and greater dyspnea. No significant correlations were found between gender or pathological diagnosis and the studied variables.

CONCLUSIONS

Advanced age, higher disease stage, and more treatment lines are associated with decreased functionality, poorer physical performance, and increased dyspnea in cancer patients. Gender and specific cancer diagnosis do not significantly affect these relationships. Addressing dyspnea is crucial to improving the quality of life and physical performance in this population. Future studies should explore additional factors like treatment types and nutritional status.