Dizziness, Lower Limb Weakness, and Falls in COPD: A Prospective Longitudinal Pilot Study Using Monthly Home Diaries

Background and purpose: Falls affect approximately half of individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and are associated with hospitalization, accelerated functional decline, and early institutionalization. Existing evidence suggests that single-visit assessments have limited and inconsistent ability to predict the future falls in individuals with COPD, highlighting the need for alternative longitudinal approaches. To our knowledge, this is the first prospective study to explore the longitudinal association between diary-recorded symptoms and falls in COPD.

Methods

Prospective observational cohort pilot study (n = 27), with 6-month follow-up. Falls and seven symptom variables were recorded monthly via structured home diaries, complemented by a standardised monthly telephone/messaging follow-up. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves with 95% bootstrap confidence intervals (CI) and optimal cut-off points using the Youden index were calculated, with internal validation by optimism-correction bootstrap. Mann-Whitney U tests compared groups (α = 0.05).