The Chronic Airways Assessment Test (CAAT) formerly known as the COPD Assessment Test (CAT)

CAATTM and CATTM are the names for an 8-item questionnaire designed to assess the impact of disease on a person’s life (health status).

The patient-completed questionnaire can be delivered in paper format or digitally. It covers symptoms such as cough, phlegm, chest tightness and breathlessness, and disease impacts, including physical activity, confidence, sleep, and energy.

  • The CAT was developed by a multi-disciplinary group of international experts in COPD supported by GSK, and it is available to patients and healthcare providers in multiple languages at the website https://www.catestonline.org/.
    • The CAT has been used as a tool that helps patients and providers have a meaningful conversation when discussing the disease.
    • The CAT was also used by researchers in observational and interventional clinical trials to support the development of new treatment approaches.
    • Researchers can obtain access to the CAT (free to academic researchers and nonprofits) at https://eprovide.mapi-trust.org/instruments/copd-assessment-test.
    • In addition to its use in COPD, the CAT has been used in studies in people with asthma, bronchiectasis, and interstitial lung disease (ILD). Those studies demonstrate the potential for the CAT as a tool for use in other lung conditions.
  • The CAAT is the same questionnaire as the CAT, with an adaptation of the introductory sentence referring to “chronic airway disease” instead of COPD to permit its application to other conditions.
    • Psychometric validation of CAAT in asthma and COPD was performed using data from the NOVELTY study1 funded by AstraZeneca.
    • In addition to being a potential tool for clinical trials in diseases beyond COPD, for which the CAT was developed, the CAAT has the potential to be a tool used by patients living with multiple lung conditions and healthcare providers to have a conversation about their health status.
    • For application in clinical trials (free for academic researchers and nonprofits), please apply here
      https://eprovide.mapi-trust.org/instruments/chronic-airways-assessment-test

Download and use the CAAT

The CAAT form can be used only for the purpose of helping patients and clinicians.

If you are a person with COPD or asthma (or a caregiver):

The CAAT is a tool to improve conversations with your healthcare provider and help them better understand your symptoms and condition. This enables them to better support you and treat your COPD or asthma (shared decision-making).

To use the CAAT, either:

  1. Print the PDF linked in the section below and fill in an answer to each question. Then, show the finished form to your healthcare provider during your next visit or conversation. The form is available in several languages.
  1. Complete an online version of the CAT at https://www.catestonline.org/, where you can select your preferred language.
    The CAT score and what it means to you and your provider will be the same as the CAAT score. This site offers translation of the tool into many languages and will also score your responses. You can then print a copy to discuss with your healthcare provider during your next visit or conversation.

The CAAT or CAT scores can only be interpreted with support from qualified healthcare personnel (your doctor, nurse, or respiratory therapist).
Your healthcare provider may ask you to complete the CAAT more than once to gain a better understanding of your symptoms over time.

Using the CAAT and CAT in healthcare systems

Updated 2023 digital implementation guide PDF:

A healthcare provider CAAT user guide and FAQ:

Educational video for providers on CAAT validation in asthma and/or COPD

Download the CAAT PDF in different languages

Download the CAAT PDF here:

Download the CAAT PDF here:

Download the CAAT PDF here:

Download the CAAT PDF here:

Download the CAAT PDF here:

Download the CAAT PDF here:

Download the CAAT PDF here:

Download the CAAT PDF here:

Download the CAAT PDF here:

Download the CAAT PDF here:

Download the CAAT PDF here:

Explanatory Videos

Learn from patients and providers about the benefits of using the CAAT in practice.

Dr. AboelHassan, Lecturer of Respiratory medicine at Assiut University
COPD patient advocate Phyllis DiLorenzo, USA
Study nurse and coordinator Ursula Boas, Germany

The CAAT Governance Board (GB)

Our mission is to make the CAAT available to a global audience of patients, families, and healthcare providers. The Global Allergy and Airways Patient Platform (GAAPP), a global umbrella nonprofit comprised of multiple patient advocacy organizations, assumed the operational lead for the GB in November 2023.  This GB replaced the CAT governance board that was formed in 2007, managed by GSK until 2020, and then the COPD Foundation until November 2023.

The GB will focus on ensuring the CAAT scientific integrity and development strategy while working with an international Scientific and Clinical panel of experts focused on validation, dissemination, translations, and implementation of the CAAT in different lung conditions.

  • Dr. Ruth Tal-Singer, Board Operations Chair
    Chief Scientific Officer
    GAAPP, Vienna, Austria
  • Professor Paul Jones, Foundation Chair
    St George’s University of London, UK
  • Professor Claus Vogelmeier, GOLD Scientific Committee Chair
    Department of Medicine, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University Medical Center Giessen and Marburg, Philipps-University Marburg, Germany
    Member of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL)
  • Professor Helen Reddel, GINA Scientific Committee Chair
    Research Leader at the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
    Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, Australia
    Director of the Australian Centre for Airways disease Monitoring (ACAM), Sydney, Australia
  • Professor James Chalmers, The European Multicenter Bronchiectasis Audit and Research Collaboration (EMBARC)
    Asthma and Lung UK Chair of Respiratory Research
    School of Medicine, University of Dundee, UK
    GAAPP Scientific and Medical Advisory Panel
  • Professor Toru Oga, Academic Research user Asia Pacific
    Department of Respiratory Medicine, Kawasaki Medical School, Kurashiki, Okayama, Japan
  • Dr. Bruce Miller, CAAT Clinical and Scientific Committee Chair
    Chief Scientific Officer
    COPD Foundation, Miami, FL, USA
  • Prof. Janelle Yorke RN, MRes, PhD Allied Health Professionals Representative
    Chair Professor of Nursing, Head of School of Nursing
    The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hunghom, Hong Kong, China SAR
  • Julie Yates, BSc, Industry User
    GSK, USA

 Clinical and Scientific Advisory Panel 

  • Dr. Gale Harding, MA
    Senior Research Leader, Patient Centered Research
    Evidera, Bethesda MD, USA
  • Dr Hana Muellerova
    AZ Representative and Scientific Advisor
    AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK
  • Dr. Kathrin Fischer
    Boehringer Ingelheim, Germany
  • Prof. Michael Polkey
    Former CAT Governance Board Chair
    NIHR Respiratory Biomedical Research Unit at the Royal Brompton and Harefield Foundation NHS Trust and Imperial College, UK
  • Prof. Mark Dransfield,
    Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine.
    University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA
  • Dr. Rafael Alfonso,
    GSK Representative and Scientific Advisor
    Value Evidence Lead, GSK. USA
  • Prof. Stephen Rennard,
    Research User
    University of Nebraska Medical Center
    Omaha, NE, USA
  • Dr. Laura Sutton
    Senior Director of Medical Affairs, Respiratory Chiesi
    Boston, MA, USA
  • Dr. Asif Khan
    Senior Global Medical Director at Sanofi
    Paris, France
  • Lucía De Prado Gómez
    Global Medical Associate Director at Sanofi
    Paris, France
  • Dr. Jacob Devine
    PrincipalOutcomes Research Scientist Genentech/Roche
    San Francisco, CA, USA

CAAT educational postcard for downloading

Educational postcard support provided by Chiesi, USA, Inc.

CAAT References

  1. Tomaszewski EL, Atkinson MJ, Janson C, Karlsson N, Make B, Price D, Reddel HK, Vogelmeier CF, Müllerová H, Jones PW; NOVELTY Scientific Community; NOVELTY study investigators. Chronic Airways Assessment Test: psychometric properties in patients with asthma and/or COPD. Respir Res. 2023 Apr 8;24(1):106 (Full text article)
  2. Tamaki K, Sakihara E, Miyata H, Hirahara N, Kirichek O, Tawara R, Akiyama S, Katsumata M, Haruya M, Ishii T, Simard EP, Miller BE, Tal-Singer R, Kaise T. Utility of Self-Administered Questionnaires for Identifying Individuals at Risk of COPD in Japan: The OCEAN (Okinawa COPD casE finding AssessmeNt) Study. Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis. 2021 Jun 17;16:1771-1782. doi: 10.2147/COPD.S302259. PMID: 34168439; PMCID: PMC8216667. (Full text article)

Recent Publications about the original CAT

  1. Jones P, Soutome T, Matsuki T, et al. Health Status Progression Measured Using Weekly Telemonitoring of COPD Assessment Test Scores Over 1 Year and Its Association With COPD Exacerbations. Chronic Obstr Pulm Dis. 2024;11(2):144-154. doi:10.15326/jcopdf.2023.0415.
  2. Al Wachami N, Boumendil K, Arraji M, et al. Evaluating the Effectiveness of the COPD Assessment Test (CAT) in Screening for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis. 2024;19:1623-1633. Published 2024 Jul 11. doi:10.2147/COPD.S460649.

Note on translation: This page translation has been reviewed by a native language speaker in German and Spanish. All other languages have been auto-translated from English.

Last Edited: 10/01/2024