Causes of Appetite Loss in Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

The project looks at causes of appetite loss in patients with COPD. It is know that active systemic inflammation can lead to appetite loss and COPD is classified as a disease lead by inflammation. But it has never been investigated if the patient with COPD has other causes of appetite loss such as physical, psychological or social barriers for not reaching a sufficient dietary intake.

The study uses a homemade questionnaire, the CAT-scale and the CNAQ-score to evaluate the extent of appetite loss and certain demographic characteristics of the participants. There will be made correlation analysis for CNAQ-score and continuous variables and there will be tested for significant differences between the group who scores as low appetite and the group that scores with a normal appetite via CNAQ.

The second part of the study invites patients to participate in a semi-structured interview, that focuses on the patient's experience with appetite loss, meals and food. The interviews will be transcribed and analysed.