THE EFFECT OF CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY-DISEASE ON QUALITY-OF-LIFE

Lazarus and Folkman's (1984) theory of stress, coping, and adaptation served as the framework for a path model of quality of life in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It was hypothesized that psychosocial variables (depression, anxiety, self-esteem, optimism, and social support) would mediate the effects of demographic (age,socioeconomic status) and disease (dyspnea, disease severity, and functional status) variables on life quality in COPD. Interview, pulmonary function, and 6-minute walk test data obtained from 126 subjects with COPD resulted in support for the majority of the hypothesized relationships. Variables having direct effects on life quality were self-esteem, depression, social support, and age. Anxiety and optimism did not have their hypothesized effects on quality of life, suggesting the need to reconsider their importance in influencing life quality in COPD. (C) 1995 John Wiley & Sons, inc.