Hajiro T, Nishimura K, Jones P W, Tsukino M, Ikeda A, Koyama H, Izumi T
Department of Respiratory Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 1999 Jun;159(6):1874-8. doi: 10.1164/ajrccm.159.6.9807097.
A novel, short, and simple questionnaire, the Airways Questionnaire 20 (AQ20), has been developed to measure and quantify disturbances in the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of patients with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The AQ20 has 20 items with yes/no responses, and should take 2 min to complete and score. The purpose of this study was to assess the discriminative properties and responsiveness of the AQ20 in patients with COPD. First, in a cross- sectional study, 165 patients with mild-to-severe COPD (mean age, 69 +/- 7 yr; FEV1, 40 +/- 16% of predicted) completed the AQ20, the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ), the Chronic Respiratory Disease Questionnaire (CRQ), pulmonary function tests, a progressive cycle ergometer exercise test, and an assessment of their dyspnea and anxiety. The score distribution of the AQ20 was skewed toward the mild end of the scale, whereas the SGRQ and CRQ showed a normal distribution. The AQ20 showed a moderately strong correlation with the maximal oxygen uptake and the assessment of dyspnea (Spearman's correlation coefficients [rs] = -0.49, -0.60, respectively), but a weak correlation with the FEV1 (rs = -0.18). Moderate to strong correlations were also recognized between the AQ20 and SGRQ and CRQ (rs = -0.80, -0.72, respectively). Multiple regression analysis revealed that dyspnea and anxiety accounted for 43% of the variance in the AQ20, almost the same as in the SGRQ and CRQ. Second, longitudinal changes over time in the FEV1, AQ20, SGRQ, and CRQ were examined in 86 patients with newly detected COPD (mean age, 69 +/- 8 yr; FEV1, 45 +/- 19% of predicted). All three measures showed significant improvements in their scores over a 3-mo period after initiating medical intervention. The change in the AQ20 showed a moderate to strong correlation with each dimension of the SGRQ and CRQ (rs = 0.56, -0.52, respectively), but no significant correlation was noted with the FEV1. In conclusion, the AQ20 may have discriminative properties and responsiveness that are similar to more complex questionnaires such as the SGRQ and CRQ. Because it is short and can be quickly answered and scored, the AQ20 may be useful in studies with limited time for HRQoL assessments.
一种新颖、简短且简单的问卷——气道问卷20（AQ20）已被开发出来，用于测量和量化哮喘或慢性阻塞性肺疾病（COPD）患者与健康相关的生活质量（HRQoL）的干扰情况。AQ20有20个项目，回答为是/否，完成并计分应需2分钟。本研究的目的是评估AQ20在COPD患者中的鉴别特性和反应性。首先，在一项横断面研究中，165例轻至重度COPD患者（平均年龄69±7岁；FEV1为预测值的40±16%）完成了AQ20、圣乔治呼吸问卷（SGRQ）、慢性呼吸系统疾病问卷（CRQ）、肺功能测试、渐进式循环测力计运动测试以及对其呼吸困难和焦虑的评估。AQ20的得分分布向量表的轻度端倾斜，而SGRQ和CRQ呈正态分布。AQ20与最大摄氧量和呼吸困难评估显示出中度强相关性（斯皮尔曼相关系数[rs]分别为-0.49、-0.60），但与FEV1的相关性较弱（rs=-0.18）。AQ20与SGRQ和CRQ之间也存在中度至强相关性（rs分别为-0.80、-0.72）。多元回归分析显示，呼吸困难和焦虑占AQ20方差的43%，与SGRQ和CRQ几乎相同。其次，在86例新诊断的COPD患者（平均年龄69±8岁；FEV1为预测值的45±19%）中检查了FEV1、AQ20、SGRQ和CRQ随时间的纵向变化。在开始医学干预后的3个月内，所有这三项测量的得分均有显著改善。AQ20的变化与SGRQ和CRQ的每个维度显示出中度至强相关性（rs分别为0.56、-0.52），但与FEV1无显著相关性。总之，AQ20可能具有与SGRQ和CRQ等更复杂问卷相似的鉴别特性和反应性。由于它简短且能快速回答和计分，AQ20可能在HRQoL评估时间有限的研究中有用。
