Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) remains a major public health problem. It is the fourth leading cause of chronic morbidity and mortality in the United States, and is projected to rank fifth in 2020 in burden of disease worldwide, according to a study published by the World Bank/World Health Organization. Yet, COPD remains relatively unknown or ignored by the public as well as public health and government officials. In 1998, in an effort to bring more attention to COPD, its management, and its prevention, a committed group of scientists encouraged the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the World Health Organization to form the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD). Among the important objectives of GOLD are to increase awareness of COPD and to help the millions of people who suffer from this disease and die prematurely of it or its complications. The first step in the GOLD program was to prepare a consensus report, Global Strategy for the Diagnosis, Management, and Prevention of COPD, published in 2001. The present, newly revised document follows the same format as the original consensus report, but has been updated to reflect the many publications on COPD that have appeared. GOLD national leaders, a network of international experts, have initiated investigations of the causes and prevalence of COPD in their countries, and developed innovative approaches for the dissemination and implementation of COPD management guidelines. We appreciate the enormous amount of work the GOLD national leaders have done on behalf of their patients with COPD. Despite the achievements in the 5 years since the GOLD report was originally published, considerable additional work is ahead of us if we are to control this major public health problem. The GOLD initiative will continue to bring COPD to the attention of governments, public health officials, health care workers, and the general public, but a concerted effort by all involved in health care will be necessary.

https://www.who.int/respiratory/copd/GOLD_WR_06.pdf

Global strategy for the diagnosis, management, and prevention of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: GOLD executive summary.

https://caltcm.memberclicks.net/assets/documents/acc_aha_chf_2013_guidelines.pdf

2013 ACCF/AHA Guideline for the Management of Heart Failure: A Report of the American College of Cardiology Foundation/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines

https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140673698043116.pdf

Effects of intensive blood-pressure lowering and low-dose aspirin in patients with hypertension: principal results of the Hypertension Optimal Treatment (HOT) randomised trial

Cross-cultural adaptation of health-related quality of life measures: literature review and proposed guidelines.

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/pdf/acc-aha-2005-guideline-update-for-the-diagnosis-and-4hik65ngbe.pdf

ACC/AHA 2005 Guideline Update for the Diagnosis and Management of Chronic Heart Failure in the Adult

The clinical and socioeconomic burden of gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD) is considerable. The primary symptom of GERD is heartburn, but it may also be associated with extraesophageal manifestations, such as asthma, chest pain and otolaryngologic disorders. The objective of the study was to describe the impact of heartburn on patients' Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQL) in Poland, using validated generic and disease-specific instruments to measure patient-reported outcomes. Patients with symptoms of heartburn completed the Polish versions of the Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale (GSRS), the Quality of Life in Reflux and Dyspepsia questionnaire (QOLRAD), the Short Form-36 (SF-36) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HAD) scale. Frequency and severity of heartburn during the previous 7 days were also recorded. 135 patients completed the assessments (mean age of 44 years, SD = 15; 61% female). 55% of patients had moderate symptoms and nearly two thirds (64%) had symptoms on 5 or more days in the previous week. Patients were most bothered by symptoms of reflux (mean GSRS score of 4.1, on a scale of 1 [not bothered] to 7 [very bothered]), indigestion (3.5) and abdominal pain (3.2). As a result of their symptoms, patients experienced impaired vitality (mean QOLRAD score of 3.8, on a scale of 1 to 7, where 1 represents the most severe impact on daily functioning), problems with food and drink (3.9), emotional distress (4.1) and sleep disturbance (4.7). Using HAD, 32% of heartburn patients were anxious and 10% were depressed. In conclusion it should be stated that there is consistent evidence that GERD substantially impairs all aspects of health-related quality of life.

Burden of illness in Polish patients with reflux disease

Objective s: To describe the impact of heartburn on patients’ Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQL) in South Africa. Design : Survey of patient-reported outcomes and physician-assessed symptoms. Setting: South African, major referral gastroenterology clinic. Subjects: Consecutive patients with predominant symptoms of heartburn. Outcome measures :Patients completed the Afrikaans versions of the Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale (GSRS), the Quality of Life in Reflux and Dyspepsia questionnaire (QOLRAD) and the Short Form Health-36 (SF-36). Physician-assessed frequency and severity of heartburn during the previous 7 days were also recorded. Results : 125 patients with symptoms of heartburn (age: M=46.0 [±12 years]; females= 74%, 87% mixed race) completed the Afrikaans translation of GSRS, the QOLRAD and the Short-Form-36 (SF-36). Patients were bothered most by symptoms of reflux (mean GSRS score of 4.9, on a scale of 1 [not bothered] to 7 [very bothered]), indigestion (4.0) and abdominal pain (4.0). As a result of their symptoms, important reflux related aspects of life, such as problems with food and drink (3.5), emotional distress (3.6), impaired vitality (3.7), sleep disturbance (3.8) and impaired physical/social functioning (4.3) were experienced (QOLRAD scores where 1 represents the most severe impact on daily functioning and 7 no impact). Overall HRQL measured by the SF-36 was poor across all domains and was significantly lower compared to the UK general population. Conclusions: There is consistent evidence that GERD symptoms substantially impair all aspects of HRQL in this mixed race South African population referred to this central clinic.

/pdf/what-is-the-burden-of-illness-in-patients-with-reflux-c9tliqi53b.pdf

What is the burden of illness in patients with reflux disease in South Africa

What is a clinically relevant difference in patient-reported outcomes in the treatment of reflux disease?

The development of new drugs calls for additional patient‐reported endpoints to health‐related quality of life and symptoms assessment. Among these, one of the ambitions is to evaluate treatment satisfaction in clinical trials, since it can be crucial for compliance and must be considered as an important factor when planning treatment. To measure this concept, a range of instruments may be used. The purpose of this study was to investigate which types of instruments for measuring treatment satisfaction are the most frequent in clinical trails. Specifically, we explored whether instruments are single item or questionnaires, and in the latter case, whether the instruments are psychometrically validated or not. We carried out a search of the literature published in English in the period July 1996 to December 2002, looking for controlled trials of treatment satisfaction. Using the Embase and Medline databases, 126 studies were included in this review. The main finding suggests that assessment of treatment sat...

Measuring Treatment Satisfaction. A Review of Randomized Controlled Drug Trials

Objective To review the consequences of functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGD), i.e. heartburn without esophagitis, dyspepsia and IBS for the individual and society. Results Current publications indicate that functional gastrointestinal disorders are more prevalent than organic gastrointestinal disorders in the population. Symptoms, not the organic finding per se, are most important to the individual. Functional disorders are furthermore linked to somatic symptoms, from other parts of the body, as well as to mental health. Together they constitute a large medical burden on society in terms of consultations, drug consumption and surgery. Social costs are further increased by problems at work and a considerable increase in absenteeism. Conclusions Functional gastrointestinal disorders should be taken more seriously by the medical community and society, since the burden of illness seems much larger than earlier anticipated.

Ingela Wiklund

Papers

Burden of illness in Polish patients with reflux disease

What is the burden of illness in patients with reflux disease in South Africa

What is a clinically relevant difference in patient-reported outcomes in the treatment of reflux disease?

Measuring Treatment Satisfaction. A Review of Randomized Controlled Drug Trials

Burden of illness in functional gastrointestinal disorder--the consequences for the individual and society.