Asking patients with chronic lung illnesses to paint a picture, of sorts, that shows how they perceive the extent of their lung disease can tell clinicians as much about their symptom-related quality of life as pulmonary test results, a new study suggests. 

In current practice, patients answer a series of questionnaires – subjective self-reported data – that’s combined with objective lung function and exercise test results to help clinicians gauge patients’ mental outlook on living with a difficult illness.