Physical and emotional aspects of self–reported health status: a two–factor model of the short–form BreathingProblems Questionnaire

Abstract

The short version of the Breathing Problems Questionnaire (BPQ) is used as an outcome tool in pulmonary assessment. The aim of the study was to establish the validity of scoring BPQ with two subscales, reflecting emotional and physical components of health–related quality of life (HRQoL). Two subscales were suggested by exploratory factor analysis conducted on a data set of 97 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Both subscales were significantly associated with the 6 minute walk test, total quality of life, and emotional stability. Only the physical subscale was significantly associated with FEVI, and only the emotional subscale was significantly associated with happiness. Overall, the sizes of the different correlations are consistent with the conceptual differentiation of the two subscales. We suggest that evaluation of rehabilitation can be made with the two subscales as well as an overall score of the BPQ.