TY - JOUR T1 - Quality of life in patients with chronic alveolar hypoventilation JF - European Respiratory Journal JO - Eur Respir J SP - 113 LP - 120 DO - 10.1183/09031936.02.00211902 VL - 19 IS - 1 AU - C. Dellborg AU - J. Olofson AU - B. Midgren AU - O. Caro AU - B-E. Skoogh AU - M. Sullivan Y1 - 2002/01/01 UR - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/19/1/113.abstract N2 - Measurements of health-related quality of life (HRQL) have not been reported in patients with chronic alveolar hypoventilation (CAH) before starting home mechanical ventilation. The purpose of this study was to investigate quality of life in a population of such patients. Forty-four consecutive patients with CAH due to previous polio, scoliosis, healed pulmonary tuberculosis or neuromuscular disease answered a battery of condition specific and generic (Sickness Impact Profile, Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale, Mood Adjective Check List) self-report questionnaires. Spirometry, arterial blood gases and overnight oxygen saturation were measured. Patients with untreated CAH had significantly impaired HRQL compared to historical data from a healthy reference population. Sleep-related problems were frequent. Age, underlying disease, and standard bicarbonate correlated significantly with HRQL measures, albeit with modest levels of explained variance (8–37%). Patients with chronic alveolar hypoventilation due to neuromuscular or restrictive chest wall disorders had severely impaired health-related quality of life. Age, the underlying disease and severity of hypoventilation are each related to the health-related quality of life decrements. Health-related quality of life measurements add important information to traditional clinical observations. This study was supported by grants from the Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation and from the Medical Faculty, Göteborg University. ER -