Understanding and optimizing health-related quality of life and physical functional capacity in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a relentlessly progressive pulmonary disease characterized by the insidious onset of shortness of breath due to parenchymal scarring. As IPF progresses, breathlessness worsens, physical functional capacity declines, and health-related quality of life (HRQL) – the impact of health or disease on a person’s satisfaction with their overall station in life – deteriorates. These two inextricably linked variables – breathlessness and physical functional capacity – are strong drivers of HRQL. With the emergence of new and prospective therapies for IPF, it is more important than ever to be able to accurately and reliably assess how IPF patients feel and function. Doing so will promote the development of novel interventions to target impairments in these areas and ensure that the field is capable of assessing the effect of therapeutics interventions on these critically important patient-centered outcomes.