Abstract
Few studies have reported the time spent outdoors in patients undergoing long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT). Also, few have determined whether time spent outdoors was influenced by psychological impairments. The aim of the present study was to examine the usage of oxygen cylinders to assess the time spent outdoors of patients receiving LTOT, and to evaluate the prevalence of dementia and depressive states and determine the correlation between these disorders and time spent outdoors. Fifty-four LTOT patients were enrolled in the present study, and dementia and depressive states were investigated using specific questionnaires. Among them, 23 patients were reassessed one year after the initial evaluation. There was a large variation in time spent outdoors among LTOT patients, and the median number was one hour per day. Measured by the Hasegawa Dementia Scale-Revised (HDS-R), dementia was observed in 41% of the patients. Depressive state, measured by the Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), was observed in 24%. There were no correlations between time spent outdoors and psychological impairments. The percentage of patients in depressive states was statistically higher in the 2nd assessment. More attention must be given to LTOT patients' usage of oxygen cylinders, and dementia and depressive state should be periodically assessed.
