[Relationship between degree of dyspnoea and health-related quality of life in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease].

Introduction: Dyspnoea is a characteristic symptom of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which impairs everyday functioning of patients.

Objective: The aim of our study was to evaluate the relationship between the degree of dyspnoea of COPD patients and their health-related quality of life.

Method: We measured the degree of dyspnoea and health-related quality of life in 85 COPD outpatients (46 male; mean age was 58 +/- 12 years; mean forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV,) was 47.