Plain Language Summaries for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases: Journal of the COPD Foundation Articles in Volume 9 Issue 3

This article was written by Cathy Gray Carlomagno, BS

Articles recently published in Volume 9, Issue 3 of the Foundation's peer-reviewed medical journal, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases: Journal of the COPD Foundation, have corresponding plain language summaries.

The summaries are short and written in simple, non-technical language with the goal of providing a helpful overview of the published original research, review, or perspective articles. These articles (and their short summaries) cover a variety of COPD-related research topics including predicting disease progression, links between lung cancer and COPD, exacerbations and quality of life and more.

Plain language summaries are available for each of the following articles:

Exacerbations and Quality of Life
In the article, "Short-Term Impact of the Frequency of COPD Exacerbations on Quality of Life" researchers present their study of individuals with moderate-severe COPD, recruited from two large clinical trials.
For the complete plain language summary, click here

Bacteria, Fungi, Viruses, and COPD
A microbiome is a community of microorganisms—bacteria, fungi, and viruses—that live or co-exist as a group in different parts of the body—such as the lungs or nasal passage. In the article, "Differences of the Nasal Microbiome and Mycobiome by Clinical Characteristics of COPD Patients" researchers discuss their study to determine the relationship between specific COPD clinical characteristics and the microbiome of the nasal passages.
For the complete plain language summary, click here

Circulating Microbes and Worse COPD
1,3 beta-d-glucan (BDG) is a part of the cell wall of fungi. Researchers sought to determine whether measured blood levels of BDG, in individuals with COPD, are associated with negative clinical results in the article, "Circulating 1,3-Beta-D-Glucan is Associated with Lung Function, Respiratory Symptoms, and Mediators of Matrix Degradation in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease"
For the complete plain language summary, click here

Understanding the Experience of an Exacerbation
In the article, "Giving Voice to People - Experiences During Mild to Moderate Acute Exacerbations of COPD" researchers share their study in which they interviewed individuals with COPD during the onset of an exacerbation that was being managed at home.
For the complete plain language summary, click here

Predicting COPD Disease Progression
Accurately predicting how an individual's COPD will progress is important for developing specific, personalized treatments. In the article, "Machine Learning Prediction of Progression in Forced Expiratory Volume in 1 Second in the COPDGene® Study" researchers present how they used a type of machine learning computer model to predict COPD disease progression.
For the complete plain language summary, click here

Portable Air Cleaner
In-home portable air cleaners reduce indoor pollutants and may improve respiratory health; however, individuals may not consistently use their air cleaner. In the article, "Patterns and Predictors of Air Cleaner Adherence Among Adults with COPD" researchers share their study of the factors associated with consistently using an air cleaner.
For the complete plain language summary, click here

Secondhand Smoke
Working with a group of former flight attendants, researchers set out to determine if there is ongoing lung tissue damage associated with worse lung function long after past exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke in "Elastin Degradation and Lung Function Deterioration with Remote Secondhand Tobacco Smoke Exposure in Never-smokers"
For the complete plain language summary, click here

Sleep Apnea and COPD
Two different approaches to helping individuals consistently use their treatment for sleep apnea—continuous positive airway pressure or CPAP—is presented in "Effect of Two Interventional Strategies on Improving Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Adherence in Existing COPD and Obstructive Sleep Apnea Patients: The O₂VERLAP Study."
For the complete plain language summary, click here

Sputum Eosinophils and Airway Inflammation
Having too many eosinophils, white blood cells that are part of the immune system, can contribute to the development of disease, including the development COPD. Sputum eosinophils (versus blood eosinophils) have been reported to more directly reflect whether eosinophilic airway inflammation exists and to what extent. Read more in "Predictors of High Sputum Eosinophils in COPD."
For the complete plain language summary, click here

Difficulty with Inspiratory Effort or Breathing In
Inhaling medications, particularly through dry powder inhalers, can be difficult for individuals with COPD who have a low peak inspiratory flow—the measure of an individual's ability to breathe in. Read more about this in the study presented in "High Prevalence of Suboptimal Peak Inspiratory Flow in Hospitalized Patients With COPD: A Real-world Study."
For the complete plain language summary, click here

Predicting Disease Progression
Researchers present a way to predict the amount of change in lung function that an individual, with certain characteristics, can expect to have over 5 or 10 years in "Predicting COPD Progression in Current and Former Smokers Using a Joint Model for Forced Expiratory Volume in 1 Second and Forced Expiratory Volume in 1 Second to Forced Vital Capacity Ratio."
For the complete plain language summary, click here

COPD and Lung Cancer
COPD and lung cancer share some of the same risk factors and may occur at the same time. The review article, "Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Lung Cancer: A Review for Clinicians" discusses the links between lung cancer and COPD.
For the complete plain language summary, click here