Screening for COPD risk using self-reported breathlessness and respiratory health related quality of life: a cross-sectional survey analysis of 8779 respondents

<bold>Introduction.</bold> We aimed to identify people at high COPD-risk through a brief self-assessment on an anonymous freely accessible website. The assessment incorporated select demographics, COPD risk factors, and the questionnaires mMRC, CAT, and K-BILD. <bold>Methods.</bold> Respondents with complete datasets were included. COPD risk was algorithmically classified as “high-risk” or “low-risk” based on age (≥35 vs <35 years), smoking/dust exposure, exacerbation history, and mMRC score. The high-risk for COPD group received a prompt recommending consulting their general practitioner. Comparisons were performed using chi-squared or ANOVA. <bold>Results.</bold> Of the 8779 responses collected between Oct 2018 and Nov 2024 (63% females), 799 reported a COPD diagnosis (mean age 64.1 years). The high-risk COPD group (n=6569), and the low-risk group (n=1411) were younger (58.4 and 54.6 years, respectively). Self-reported COPD was associated with fewer never smokers (7.1% vs 15.0% and 22.0%) and greater breathlessness and impairment of HRQoL (Figure). The high risk for COPD group had a profile close to the self-reported COPD cohort. <bold>Conclusions.</bold> Breathlessness and respiratory HRQoL differed only slightly between the algorithmically identified high-risk group and the self-reported COPD group. This supports the webtool`s potential for identifying undiagnosed COPD. Further validation is needed. <fig><object-id>erj;66/suppl_69/OA2245/F1</object-id><object-id>F1</object-id><object-id>F1</object-id><graphic></graphic></fig>