Gc. Donaldson et al., Effect of temperature on lung function and symptoms in chronic obstructivepulmonary disease, EUR RESP J, 13(4), 1999, pp. 844-849
The present study investigated whether falls in environmental temperature i
ncrease morbidity from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Daily lung function and symptom data were collected over 12 months from 76
COPD patients living in East London and related to outdoor and bedroom temp
erature. Questionnaires were administered which asked primarily about the n
ature of night-time heating.
A fall in outdoor or bedroom temperature was associated with increased freq
uency of exacerbation, and decline in lung function, irrespective of whethe
r periods of exacerbation were excluded. Forced expiratory volume in one se
cond (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC) fell markedly by a median of 45
mL (95% percentile range: -113-229 mL) and 74 mL (351-991 mL), respectivel
y, between the warmest and coolest week of the study. The questionnaire rev
ealed that 10% had bedrooms <13 degrees C for 25% of the year, possibly bec
ause only 21% heated their bedrooms and 48% kept their windows open in Nove
mber.
Temperature-related reduction in lung function, and increase in exacerbatio
ns may contribute to the high level of cold-related morbidity from chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease.