ArticlePloS one2014
Prevalence and burden of breathlessness in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease managed in primary care.
Article in PloS one, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 58 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
58 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 131 citations in OpenAlex.
- Is Acanthosis Nigricans a Marker for Metabolic Syndrome? A Systematic Review.American journal of clinical dermatology · 2026Pooled it
- Virtual reality in adults with respiratory diseases experiencing dyspnoea: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ open respiratory research · 2025Pooled it
- Multicomponent services for symptoms in serious respiratory illness: a systematic review and meta-analysis.European respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society · 2024Pooled it
- Effect of Indacaterol on Cough and Phlegm in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients: A Meta-Analysis of Five Randomized Controlled Trials.Journal of Korean medical science · 2015Pooled it
- Step up to triple therapy versus switch to dual bronchodilator therapy in patients with COPD on an inhaled corticosteroid/long-acting βRespiratory research · 2025Trial
- "When I am breathless now, I don't have the fear that's linked to it": a case series on the potential of EMDR to break the dyspnea-anxiety cycle in COPD.BMC pulmonary medicine · 2022Trial
- Impact of baseline symptoms and health status on COPD exacerbations in the FLAME study.Respiratory research · 2020Trial
- Article
- Using hyperpolarised xenon magnetic resonance imaging to explore breathlessness in long COVID: results from the EXPLAIN study.ERJ open research · 2026Article
- Perspectives of primary care and community clinicians on chronic breathlessness management.ERJ open research · 2026Article
- Effect of fan-to-face therapy on exertional breathlessness in adults with chronic lung disease.ERJ open research · 2026Article
- Objective dyspnea measurement in real time using a forehead wearable and artificial intelligence.NPJ primary care respiratory medicine · 2026Article
- Article
- Dyspnea in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Expert Assessment of Management in Clinical Practice.Pulmonary therapy · 2025Article
- The occurrence mechanism, assessment, and non-pharmacological treatment of dyspnea.Medical review (2021) · 2024Review
- Breathlessness without borders: a call to action for global breathlessness research.NPJ primary care respiratory medicine · 2024Article
- Trends in COPD severe exacerbations, and all-cause and respiratory mortality, before and after implementation of newer long-acting bronchodilators in a large population-based cohort.BMC pulmonary medicine · 2024Article
- Rate of severe exacerbations, healthcare resource utilisation and clinical outcomes in patients with COPD in low-income and middle-income countries: results from the EXACOS International Study.BMJ open respiratory research · 2024Article
- Pulmonary Rehabilitation with and without a Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Breathlessness in People Living with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Article
- The prevalence of dyspnea in the adult Polish population.International journal of occupational medicine and environmental health · 2022Observational
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
BACKGROUND &
aimsBreathlessness is a primary clinical feature of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We aimed to describe the frequency of and factors associated with breathlessness in a cohort of COPD patients identified from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD), a general practice electronic medical records database.
methodsPatients with a record of COPD diagnosis after January 1 2008 were identified in the CPRD. Breathlessness was assessed using the Medical Research Council (MRC) dyspnoea scale, with scoring ranging from 1-5, which has been routinely administered as a part of the regular assessment of patients with COPD in the general practice since April 2009. Stepwise multivariate logistic regression estimated independent associations with dyspnoea. Negative binomial regression evaluated a relationship between breathlessness and exacerbation rate during follow-up.
resultsThe total cohort comprised 49,438 patients diagnosed with COPD; 40,425 (82%) had any MRC dyspnoea grade recorded. Of those, 22,770 (46%) had moderate-to-severe dyspnoea (MRC ≥ 3). Breathlessness increased with increasing airflow limitation; however, moderate-to-severe dyspnoea was also observed in 32% of patients with mild airflow obstruction. Other factors associated with increased dyspnoea grade included female gender, older age (≥ 70 years), obesity (BMI ≥ 30), history of moderate-to-severe COPD exacerbations, and frequent visits to the general practitioner. Patients with worse breathlessness were at higher risk of COPD exacerbations during follow-up.
conclusionsModerate-to-severe dyspnoea was reported by >40% of patients diagnosed with COPD in primary care. Presence of dyspnoea, including even a perception of mild dyspnoea (MRC = 2), was associated with increased disease severity and a higher risk of COPD exacerbations during follow-up.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.