%0 Journal Article
%T Characteristics of COPD Patients Enrolled into Rehabilitation Programme in Copenhagen
%A Ramune Jacobsen
%A Ea Rusch
%A Anne Fr£żlich
%A Per Kragh Andersen
%A Nina Godftredsen
%J ISRN Pulmonology
%D 2013
%R 10.1155/2013/394042
%X Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is a recommended standard of care for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), as it improves exercise capacity and health-related quality of life (HRQOL), attenuates perceived dyspnoea, and decreases the need for hospitalisation. The objective of this study was to compare medical and sociodemographic characteristics of COPD patients who were enrolled and completed the PR with those of COPD patients who were resident in the same municipality but were not enrolled into this PR. The data used for comparison came from the Danish National Registers. The COPD patients who were enrolled and completed the rehabilitation differed from COPD patients who were not enrolled into the rehabilitation in the following: (1) there were more women than men among those who were enrolled; (2) those who were enrolled had higher socioeconomic status compared to those who were not enrolled; and (3) those who were enrolled into the rehabilitation used more COPD-specific medication compared to those who were not enrolled. In conclusion, to enrol more COPD patients into PR, special attention needs to be paid to COPD patients from lower socioeconomic status groups as well as male patients. 1. Introduction Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a disease that clinically manifests itself by gradual physical impairment, increasing breathlessness, and episodes of acute exacerbations which deteriorate overall health and require hospitalisation. Morbidity and mortality related to COPD is increasing [1]. COPD is especially frequent in Denmark. According to the calculations done by the Copenhagen City Heart Study in 2010, an overall prevalence of COPD in Denmark was 17.4% among individuals of 35 years of age or older, while estimated COPD prevalence from studies in other developed countries ranged from 5% to 19% with the majority being in the vicinity of 10% [2]. In the Capital Region of Denmark, the prevalence of COPD among individuals older than 40 years old of age is 15% corresponding to 120,000 citizens. Among those, more than 19,000 meet the criteria for a rehabilitation programme, that is, forced expiratory volume during one second (FEV1) being less than 80% of predicted value, and dyspnea scoring 3 or higher on the Medical Research Council (MRC) scale [3]. Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is a recommended standard of care for patients with COPD. According to the definitions set by the American Thoracic Society and the European Respiratory Society, comprehensive PR programmes should include patient assessment, exercise training,
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/isrn.pulmonology/2013/394042/