Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients With Fibrosing Interstitial Lung Diseases: A Study Using the King’s Brief Interstitial Lung Disease (K-BILD) Questionnaire
- 1Department of Pulmonology, Faculté de Médecine et de Pharmacie, Université Cadi Ayyad, Marrakech, MAR
- 2Department of Health, Faculté des Sciences et Techniques de la Santé, Gamal Abdel Nasser University of Conakry, Conakry, GIN
- 3Department of Pulmonology, Avicenne Military Hospital, Marrakech, MAR
Abstract
Background and aim: Fibrosing interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) encompass a heterogeneous group of chronic, progressive pulmonary disorders characterized by varying degrees of pulmonary inflammation, fibrosis, and hypoxemia, which may ultimately lead to respiratory failure and death. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is an important outcome in patients with ILD. The primary objective was to assess HRQoL in patients with fibrosing interstitial lung diseases. The secondary objective was to explore the associations between K-BILD scores and selected sociodemographic, clinical, etiological, and treatment-related characteristics.
Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional observational study from January to July 2026 in the Department of Pulmonology at Avicenne Military Hospital in Marrakech, Morocco. We included patients with fibrosing ILD confirmed by chest computed tomography (CT). Sociodemographic, clinical, therapeutic, and etiological data were collected from medical records. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) was assessed using a validated questionnaire.
Results: A total of 50 patients with fibrosing ILD were included. Males were predominant (56%), with a male-to-female ratio of 1.2. Patients' ages ranged from 50 to 86 years, with a mean age of 68 years. The 60-69-year age group was the most represented (46%). The mean total K-BILD score was 48.43±19.77, indicating an overall impairment in health-related quality of life in the study population. The breathlessness and activities domain had the lowest mean score (32.83±27.32), whereas higher mean scores were observed for the psychological domain (53.90±18.65) and the chest symptoms domain (56.44±22.76). Item-level analysis showed that item 1, which assesses breathlessness, had the lowest mean score (23.66±1.62). We observed a statistically significant association between the mean total K-BILD score and oxygen saturation on room air (p=0.005).
Conclusion: In our population of patients with fibrosing interstitial lung diseases (ILDs), health-related quality of life was overall impaired, with a mean total K-BILD score of 48.43±19.77. These findings highlight the potential value of systematic assessment of health-related quality of life as part of comprehensive management of patients with fibrosing ILDs. Further multicenter longitudinal studies involving larger patient populations and incorporating pulmonary function testing are warranted to confirm these associations.
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BibTeX
@article{diallo2026healthrelated,
title = {{Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients With Fibrosing Interstitial Lung Diseases: A Study Using the King’s Brief Interstitial Lung Disease (K-BILD) Questionnaire}},
author = {Mamadou Siradjo Diallo and David Cherif and Gassima Brasseins and Jamal Oujaber and Amine Harzimi Benjelloun},
journal = {Cureus},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.7759/cureus.117190},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13720559},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients With Fibrosing Interstitial Lung Diseases: A Study Using the King’s Brief Interstitial Lung Disease (K-BILD) Questionnaire
AU - Mamadou Siradjo Diallo
AU - David Cherif
AU - Gassima Brasseins
AU - Jamal Oujaber
AU - Amine Harzimi Benjelloun
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/30
JO - Cureus
DO - 10.7759/cureus.117190
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13720559
AB - Background and aim: Fibrosing interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) encompass a heterogeneous group of chronic, progressive pulmonary disorders characterized by varying degrees of pulmonary inflammation, fibrosis, and hypoxemia, which may ultimately lead to respiratory failure and death. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is an important outcome in patients with ILD. The primary objective was to assess HRQoL in patients with fibrosing interstitial lung diseases. The secondary objective was to explore the associations between K-BILD scores and selected sociodemographic, clinical, etiological, and treatment-related characteristics. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional observational study from January to July 2026 in the Department of Pulmonology at Avicenne Military Hospital in Marrakech, Morocco. We included patients with fibrosing ILD confirmed by chest computed tomography (CT). Sociodemographic, clinical, therapeutic, and etiological data were collected from medical records. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) was assessed using a validated questionnaire. Results: A total of 50 patients with fibrosing ILD were included. Males were predominant (56%), with a male-to-female ratio of 1.2. Patients' ages ranged from 50 to 86 years, with a mean age of 68 years. The 60-69-year age group was the most represented (46%). The mean total K-BILD score was 48.43±19.77, indicating an overall impairment in health-related quality of life in the study population. The breathlessness and activities domain had the lowest mean score (32.83±27.32), whereas higher mean scores were observed for the psychological domain (53.90±18.65) and the chest symptoms domain (56.44±22.76). Item-level analysis showed that item 1, which assesses breathlessness, had the lowest mean score (23.66±1.62). We observed a statistically significant association between the mean total K-BILD score and oxygen saturation on room air (p=0.005). Conclusion: In our population of patients with fibrosing interstitial lung diseases (ILDs), health-related quality of life was overall impaired, with a mean total K-BILD score of 48.43±19.77. These findings highlight the potential value of systematic assessment of health-related quality of life as part of comprehensive management of patients with fibrosing ILDs. Further multicenter longitudinal studies involving larger patient populations and incorporating pulmonary function testing are warranted to confirm these associations.
SN - 2168-8184
ER -