Previous studies of multiple COPD risk factors, lung
health, and community-based intervention focused on
changes in FEV1. A few studies on the respiratory and systemic manifestations of COPD showed that the FEV1, expressed as the percentage of predicted values, did not change significantly in subjects with COPD, which is consistent with our findings. Our results show that the decrease in FEV1 in subjects with stage I and II COPD in the health management group was less pronounced than that in the control group. However, the impact of COPD on subjects depends mostly on the severity of the symptoms, rather than just the degree of air-flow limitation. Therefore, the FEV1 alone is not sufficient to provide an accurate evaluation of the efficacy of a COPD management intervention program. In this study, the efficacy of a community-based intervention program that we developed was assessed regarding multiple aspects of COPD management. We observed a less pronounced decrease in the BODE index, as well as lower anxiety and depression rates, in the management group compared with the control group.