Resilience and health-related quality of life in patients with pulmonary diseases receiving ambulatory oxygen therapy - 24-month follow-up results

BMC Pulm Med. 2025 Jul 4;25(1):326. doi: 10.1186/s12890-025-03778-8.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: There are scarce data on the development of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) over time and how psychological factors affect patients’ adaptation to severe pulmonary diseases. This prospective 24-month follow-up study assessed HRQoL and its associations with anxiety, depression, resilience, and life satisfaction in pulmonary disease patients receiving ambulatory oxygen therapy.

METHODS: We enrolled 47 patients who were prescribed ambulatory oxygen therapy for severe pulmonary diseases, and 3 months of data have been published previously. Patients completed five questionnaires at baseline and at 3, 6, 12 and 24 months: the 15D HRQoL instrument, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the Life Satisfaction Scale-4, the Resilience Scale-25, and the Quebec User Evaluation of Satisfaction with Assistive Technology (QUEST 2.0). The primary outcome was the HRQoL at 24 months.

RESULTS: At 24 months, data were available for 19 patients (response rate 40%). Patients had very low HRQoL at baseline, which decreased substantially during the 24-month follow-up. There was a strong inverse correlation between HRQoL and anxiety, depression and life satisfaction and a strong positive correlation with resilience. However, half of the patients with severe pulmonary diseases receiving ambulatory oxygen therapy who had better psychological functioning were happy with life and did not feel lonely at all. Patient satisfaction with assistive technology and services was high.

CONCLUSIONS: A low HRQoL in patients with severe pulmonary disease is strongly associated with poor psychological functioning. As anxiety, depression and resilience are modifiable factors, these factors should be evaluated in patients prescribed ambulatory oxygen therapy.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Protocol Record 507A023. Registered 17 September 2020 – Registered, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?cond=&term=NCT04554225&cntry=&state=&city=&dist= .

PMID:40616033 | DOI:10.1186/s12890-025-03778-8