CHARACTERISTICS IN WOMEN WITH COPD FROM EXPOSURE TO WOODSMOKE AND SMOKING IN PULMONARY REHABILITATION

J. Betancourt-Peña^1,2, J.C. Ávila-Valencia^1,3, J. Rodríguez-Castro¹, V. Benavides-Córdoba²

Background: COPD is a disease that has increased worldwide being its main cause cigarette smoking. However, biofuels are used globally for both home heating and cooking, this has made that the exposition to these pollutants triggers significant mortality and morbidity rates.

Purpose: The aim of this study is to describe the characteristics in functional capacity and quality of life related to health in two groups of patients with COPD who were admitted to a pulmonary rehabilitation program (RP); a group by exposure to wood smoke (COPDL) and another COPD by smoking habit (COPDF).

Methods: Crosssectional study in two groups of female patients with COPD of different cause who entered to PR in the period of January 2014 to December 2015. The patients were admitted with a diagnosis of COPD with exposure to wood smoke higher than 10 years (EPOCL N=10) or to smoking habit (COPDF N=67) being classified through spirometry. Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, body mass index, dyspnea (MRC), functional capacity with test walk of 6 minutes (6MWT), anxiety and depression (HADS) and quality of life related to health, were evaluated. Qualitative variables are presented in percentages, quantitative variables are presented in average ± standard deviation; a t test was used for independent samples with a p-value less than 0.05 was considered as statistically significant.

Results: Age in years at the COPDL group was 72.9 ± 11.6 and 70.7 ± 8.9 at COPDF group; 90% of COPDL group were women and 79.1% of COPDF group were men. 60% of COPDL group belonged to a low socioeconomic stratum and 46.3% of COPDF group belonged to a middle stratum. Spirometry showed obstructive pattern in both groups and no significant differences between groups were presented; the MRC dyspnea average 3.1 ± 1.5 in COPDL group and 3.09 ± 1 in COPDF group did not present differences. The distance in 6MWT showed a difference of 26.9 ± 35.7 meters in favor for COPDF pvalue= 0.49. In the SGRQ questionnaire no differences between the groups were found, however, the Symptoms domain had the highest commitment to COPDL and Activity domain for COPDF.

Conclusion(s): The clinical and quality of life characteristics are similar in both groups. However, the characteristics of women with COPDL suggest that it is they who are, engaged in housework, generating greater exposure to wood smoke with increasing symptoms evident in the SGRQ score. This may limit the performance during the 6MWT which is reflected in a lower distance traveled in comparison to the COPDF group.

Implications: COPD affects in a similar way COPDL and COPDF women. Taking into account the large public health problem representing this disease, future studies must be performed in which strategies are implemented to reduce the use of such fuels in houses as well as the ventilation is improved.

Funding, acknowledgements: The authors declare that they have had no funding for this study.

Keywords: Woman, COPD, Smoke

Topic: Cardiorespiratory

Did this work require ethics approval? Yes

Institution: Institución Universitaria Escuela Nacional del Deporte

Committee: Human Ethics Committee Escuela Nacional del Deporte

Ethics number: 4,1-17 003-1