Integral Health Status-Based Cluster Analysis in Moderate–Severe COPD Patients Identifies Three Clinical Phenotypes: Relevant for Treatment As Usual and Pulmonary Rehabilitation

• DOI: 10.1007/s12529-016-9622-3
• Publication Date: 2016-12-19T14:17:29Z
• Authors: Jeannette B. Peters; Lonneke M. Boer; Johan Molema; Yvonne F. Heijdra; Judith B. Prins; Jan H. Vercoulen
• Keywords: Radboudumc 18: Healthcare improvement science RIHS: Radboud Institute for Health Sciences; Male; Primary and Community Care - Radboud University Medical Center; Health Status; Radboudumc 17: Women's cancers RIHS: Radboud Institute for Health Sciences; Middle Aged; Article; 3. Good health; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive; Medical Psychology - Radboud University Medical Center; Phenotype; Outpatients; Quality of Life; Radboudumc 5: Inflammatory diseases RIHS: Radboud Institute for Health Sciences; Cluster Analysis; Humans; Female; Longitudinal Studies; Pulmonary Diseases - Radboud University Medical Center; Applied Psychology; Aged

The purposes of the study are to identify clinical phenotypes that reflect the level of adaptation to the disease and to examine whether these clinical phenotypes respond differently to treatment as usual (TAU) and pulmonary rehabilitation (PR), the latter with its strong emphasis on improving adaptation.Clusters were identified by a cluster analysis using data on many subdomains of the four domains of health status (HS) (physiological functioning, functional impairment, symptoms and quality of life) in 160 outpatients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) receiving TAU. By discriminant analysis in the TAU sample, all 459 PR patients could be assigned to one of the identified clusters. The effect of TAU and PR on HS was examined with paired t tests.Three distinct phenotypes were identified in the TAU sample. Two types were labelled adapted: phenotype 1 (moderate COPD-low impact on HS, n = 53) and phenotype 3 (severe COPD-moderate impact on HS, n = 73). One type was labelled non-adapted: phenotype 2 (moderate COPD-high impact on HS, n = 34). After 1-year TAU, the integral health status of all patients did not improve in any subdomain. In contrast, at the end of PR, significant improvements in HS were found in all three phenotypes especially the non-adapted.Different phenotypes exist in COPD that are based on behavioural aspects (i.e. the level of adaptation to the disease). Non-adapted patient responds better to treatments with a strong emphasis on improving adaptation by learning the patient better self-management skills. Knowing to which clinical phenotype a patient belongs helps to optimize patient-tailored treatment.