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AIR scale measures anxiety for COPD patients in rehabilitation

Researchers in this study found the Anxiety Inventory Respiratory scale is validated and affected by factors such as quality of life and dyspnea in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, according to recent research.

“The [Anxiety Inventory Respiratory] AIR scale is valid and responsive tool that measures anxiety in patients with [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease] COPD. The change in AIR score correlates with the change in dyspnea and health-related quality of life measures,” Abebaw Mengistu Yohannes, PhD, from Manchester Metropolitan University and Department of Health Professions in Manchester, United Kingdom, and colleagues wrote in their study. “Our finding a 5.5-point change in the AIR score or 45% reduction in the anxiety is [minimum clinical important difference] MCID for patients with COPD following [pulmonary rehabilitation] PR. Further studies are needed to replicate and determine the long-term benefits of the AIR scale in patients with COPD with other interventions.”

Yohannes and colleagues evaluated 192 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV₁) less than 70% who underwent an 8-week pulmonary rehabilitation program, according to the abstract. Patients were a mean age of 71-years-old (SD = 8.4 years) and the cohort was 51% women. The program consisted of 1 hour per week of exercise and 1 hour of education, and in addition to the AIR scale, outcomes were measured using the St. George’s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ), incremental shuttle walk test (ISWT) and Medical Research Council (nMRC) scale.

They found patients with a high baseline anxiety measured by the AIR scale (≥ 8) showed a mean change of pre-program score from 12.25 to 6.70 post-program (P < 0.001), a pre-program score for ISWT of 183 and a post-program score of 258 (t = 9.49; P < 0.001), a pre-program total SGRQ score of 62.54 compared with a post-program score of 55.70 (P < 0.001) and a pre-program nMRC score of 3.32 compared to a post-program score of 3.04 (P = 0.03), according to the abstract.

The researchers noted that change in the AIR scale was correlated with a change in total SGRQ (r = 0.16; P = 0.02) and in nMRC scores (r = 0.15, P = 0.03), and that the AIR scale had an effect size of 1.01 and a minimal clinical difference of 5.55. The AIR scale was also a predictor of completing rehabilitation, with anxiety as a factor for non-completion, according to the abstract. – by Jeff Craven

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures