Figures
- Fig. 1—
Flow of participants through study. COPD: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Tables
- Table 1—
Participant baseline social, clinical and housing characteristics by study group
Intervention Control Monitor only Participants n 59 59 60 Age yrs 71±10 68±7.2 69±7.9 Male 27 (46) 27 (46) 28 (47) Marital status: Never married 3 (5) 4 (7) 4 (7) Married 36 (61) 36 (61) 35 (58) Widowed/divorced 20 (34) 19 (32) 21 (35) Lives alone 20 (34) 20 (34) 21 (35) Smoker# 20 (34) 26 (46) 18 (33) Deprivation score -0.55±2.8 0.22±2.9 -0.53±3.2 Clinical and health status FEV1 L¶ 0.98±0.44 1.1±0.46 1.0±0.49 FEV1¶ % pred 40.4±16.5 45.0±18.5 39.4±16.9 FVC L¶ 2.2±0.80 2.2±0.71 2.1±0.78 FVC¶ % pred 59.9±19.3 60.6±16.2 56.5±19.6 All admissions+ 1.9±1.6 1.7±1.5 1.9±1.5 COPD admissions+ 1.1±1.1 1.1±1.1 1.2±1.0 SGRQ symptoms 73.8±17.4 76.5±18.3 77.1±16.3 SGRQ activities 85.5±17.1 83.0±16.0 81.7±19.8 SGRQ impact 56.7±21.2 57.1±19.5 54.6±24.6 SGRQ total 68.0±17.1 68.0±16.5 68.3±19.9 Housing Social housing§ 23 (39) 30 (51) 22 (37) Central heating 48 (81) 54 (92) 48 (80) Energy efficiency (NHER) 5.1 (1.9) 5.5 (1.7) 5.5 (1.7) EAFC £ 695 (434) 533 (187) 553 (224) Data are presented as mean±sd or n (%), unless otherwise stated. FEV1: forced expiratory volume in 1 s; % pred: % predicted; FVC: forced vital capacity; COPD: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; SGRQ: St George’s Respiratory Questionnaire; NHER: National Home Energy Rating; EAFC: Estimated Annual Fuel Costs to heat according to housing guidelines. #: 11 participants had no saliva for cotinine analyses; ¶: missing for one participant; +: admissions in 12 months before study entry; §: three homes were privately rented, these are included in the social housing category.
- Table 2—
Difference in outcome measures at 12-month follow-up, intention-to-treat analysis: control versus intervention
Outcome At study entry 12 months after intervention Difference (95% CI) Intervention group Control group Intervention group Control group Unadjusted Adjusted for baseline score NHER 5.1 5.5 5.5 5.7 0.2 (-0.5–0.9) 0.2 (-0.1–0.6) EAFC £ 696 533 647 580 -66.9 (-250.2–116.4) -12.1 (-52.4–28.7) LR h at 21°C 55.9 73.1 59.4 64.0 4.6 (-19.2–28.3) 7.4 (-11.0–25.8) BR h at 18°C 100.2 109.5 111.9 102.2 -9.7 (-36.4–17.0) 22.4 (1.6–43.4) LR average humidity g·kg−1 46.4 60.0 43.8 43.0 -0.9 (-4.8–3.0) -1.7 (-4.9–1.6) BR average humidity g·kg−1 50.0 65.4 49.5 48.7 -0.8 (-4.3–2.7) -0.8 (-3.5–1.9) COPD admissions n 1.1 1.1 1.5 1.1 -0.4 (-1.2–0.4) 0.4 (-0.4–1.1) Symptom score# 73.8 76.5 73.2 77.1 -3.8 (-12.4–4.8) -3.5 (-11.3–4.3)¶ Impact score# 56.7 57.1 61.0 58.8 2.1 (-6.8–11.0) 3.0 (-4.3–10.2)¶ Activities score# 85.5 83.0 83.5 82.6 0.9 (-6.9–8.7) -1.4 (-7.7–4.8)¶ SGRQ total 68 68 69.8 68.9 -0.9 (-8.5–6.6) -0.9, (-6.7–4.9) VAS score 50.3 47.1 48.5 48.5 0.0 (-1.0–1.0) -0.3 (-1.2–0.6)¶ NHER: National Home Energy Rating; EAFC: estimated annual fuel costs; LR: living room; BR: bedroom; COPD: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; SGRQ: St George’s Respiratory Questionnaire; VAS: visual analogue scale. #: score from SGRQ; ¶: adjusted for baseline score, age, % predicted forced expiratory volume in 1 s and mass of particles <2.5 μm in diameter.
- Table 3—
Demographics at baseline for all participants, and for those who had action/had no action
Demographic All Had action No action p-value Participants n 178 45 133 Age yrs 69.6±8.5 71.2±7.2 68.8±8.8 0.03 Male 82 (46) 20 (44) 62 (47) ns Marital status Never married 11 (6) 4 (9) 7 (5) Married 107 (60) 26 (58) 81 (61) ns Widowed/divorced 60 (34) 15 (33) 45 (34) Lives alone 61 (34) 18 (40) 43 (32) ns Smoker# 64 (38) 14 (32) 50 (41) ns Carstairs deprivation score -0.29 (2.9) -0.32 (3.0) -0.49 (2.7) 0.10 Clinical and health status FEV1 L 1.03±0.46 1.05±0.49 1.02±0.46 ns FEV1 % pred 41.6±17.4 43.5±18.0 41.0±17.2 ns FVC L 2.17±0.77 2.15±0.77 2.17±0.76 ns FVC % pred 59.0±18.4 59.0±18.8 59.0±18.3 ns COPD prior admissions¶ 1.15±1.1 0.9±0.9 1.23±1.1 0.06 SGRQ symptoms 75.8±17.3 72.4±16.8 77±17.4 0.13 SGRQ activity limitation 83.4±17.7 86.3±12.5 82.4±19.0 0.12 SGRQ impact 56.1±21.8 58.3±20.7 55.4±22.2 ns SGRQ total score 67.5±17.8 68.9±15.2 67±18.6 ns VAS 4.8±1.8 4.6±1.7 4.9±1.8 ns EQ-5D 53±24.8 53.3±22.4 52.9±25.6 ns Housing Social housing 75 (42) 18 (40) 57 (43) ns Central heating 150 (84) 10 (22) 18 (14) ns Energy efficiency (NHER) 5.3 (1.8) 4.8 (2.1) 5.5 (1.7) 0.03 EAFC £ 594 (309) 705 (417) 557 (253) 0.03 Data are presented as n (%) or mean±sd, unless otherwise stated. ns: nonsignificant; FEV1: forced expiratory volume in 1 s; % pred: % predicted; FVC: forced vital capacity; COPD: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; SGRQ: St George’s Respiratory Questionnaire; VAS: visual analogue scale; NHER: National Home Energy Rating; EAFC: estimated annual fuel costs to heat according to housing guidelines. #: 11 participants had no saliva for cotinine analyses; ¶: admissions in 12 months prior to entry to study.
- Table 4—
Difference in outcome measures at 12-month follow-up, action versus no action
Outcome Before action 12 months after action Difference (95% CI) Action group No action group Action group No action group Unadjusted Adjusted for baseline score National Home Energy Rating 4.8 5.6 6.0 5.7 0.3 (-0.3-0.9) 1.1 (0.8-1.4) Estimated annual fuel costs £ 705 557 612 576 -36.5 (-105.7-81.8) -65.3 (-31.9- -98.7) LR h at 21°C 47.9 69.0 54.1 69.2 15.2 (-6.1-36.4) 1.9 (-15.0-18.8) BR h at 18°C 104.5 114.8 110.5 112.0 1.5 (-21.1-24.0) 0.8 (-22.8-21.3) LR average humidity g·kg−1 46.6 51.8 44.7 43.6 -1.1 (-4.4-2.2) 0.4 (-2.4-3.2) BR average humidity g·kg−1 49.5 56.2 49.7 48.2 -1.4 (-4.5-1.6) -0.6 (-2.9-1.7) COPD admissions 0.9 1.2 0.8 1.4 0.5 (-0.2-1.2) -0.3 (-0.9-0.4) SGRQ symptom score 72.4 77.0 66.0 77.7 -11.7 (-19.2- -4.1,) -9.0 (-2.5- -15.5)# SGRQ impact score 58.3 55.4 58.8 59.6 0.9 (-7.2-8.9) -5.7 (-12.3-0.8) # SGRQ activities score 86.3 82.4 83.2 83.8 0.6 (-6.8-8.0) -3.9 (-9.3-1.5) # SGRQ total 68.8 67 67.4 69.9 -2.5 (-9.2-4.2,) -5.7 (-0.7- -10.7) VAS score 46.1 49.2 46.9 47.8 0.08 (-0.76-0.92) 0.1 (-0.8-0.9) # LR: living room; BR: bedroom; COPD: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; SGRQ: St George’s Respiratory Questionnaire; VAS: visual analogue scale. #: adjusted for baseline score, age, % predicted forced expiratory volume in 1 s and mass of particles <2.5 μm in diameter.
