Late Breaking Abstract - Fatigue is highly prevalent in patients with COPD and correlates poorly with the airflow limitation

Rationale: Fatigue is assumed to be more prevalent in patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) compared to persons without COPD. However, large-scale studies including non-COPD controls are limited. Objectives: To compare fatigue levels between subjects with and without COPD, and to investigate the relationship between fatigue, demographic characteristics, clinical features and disease severity. Methods: 1290 patients with COPD (age 65±9 years, 61% male, FEV1 56±19 % predicted) and 199 subjects without COPD (age 63±9 years, 51% male, FEV1 112±21 % predicted) were assessed for fatigue (Checklist Individual Strength-Fatigue), demographics (age, gender, marital status, educational level, working status), clinical features (smoking status, pack years, use of long-term oxygen therapy, comorbidities, body composition abnormalities, number of medications) and disease severity (spirometry, dyspnoea, number of exacerbations in the previous year). Measurements and Main Results: Patients with COPD had a higher mean fatigue score, and a higher proportion of severe fatigue (CIS-Fatigue score 35±12 versus 21±11 points, p Conclusions: Severe fatigue is prevalent in half of the patients with COPD, and correlates poorly with the degree of airflow limitation. Future studies are needed to better understand the physical, psychological, behavioural, and systemic factors that precipitate and/or perpetuate fatigue in COPD.