Effects of inhaled therapies on health-related quality of life in stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

In chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL)/health status improvement is included among the management goals. This can be achieved, among other measures, with inhaled therapies, which, in this disease, are used alone or combined in a step-up approach based on disease severity. As COPD is a chronic disease, the long-term effects of inhaled therapies on various disease outcome measures, such as symptoms, lung function, morbidity or HRQoL, are more relevant for accessing clinical efficacy. This review discusses briefly the HRQoL assessment tools in COPD and analyses the effects of inhaled therapies on HRQoL in stable COPD.