|
| Patient baseline characteristics | |
|
| Males (N = 305), n (%) | | | | 233 (76.4) |
| Caucasian (N = 305), n (%) | | | | 305 (100.0) |
| Age (N = 305), mean (SD), years | | | | 69.7 (9.8) |
| ≥65 years old (N = 305), n (%) | | | | 217 (71.1) |
|
| Smoking status (N = 305), n (%) | |
| Ex‐smokers | | | | 204 (66.9) |
| Current smokers | | | | 85 (27.9) |
| At least one past or ongoing medical condition/surgery/comorbidity (N = 305), n (%) | | | | 220 (72.1) |
| At least one ongoing medical condition/comorbidity (N = 305), n (%) | | | | 208 (68.2) |
| Past or ongoing medical conditions/comorbidities in ≥10% of the patients (N = 305), n (%) | |
| Essential hypertension | | | | 109 (35.7) |
| Cardiac disorders | | | | 75 (24.6) |
| Dyslipidaemia | | | | 47 (15.4) |
| Benign prostatic hyperplasia | | | | 36 (11.8) |
| Diabetes mellitus | | | | 37 (12.1) |
|
| Disease characteristics at baseline | |
| Duration of chronic bronchitis (N = 305), mean (SD), years | | | | 7.96 (6.22) |
| ≤5 years | | | | 149 (48.9) |
| >5 to ≤10 years | | | | 80 (26.2) |
| >10 years | | | | 76 (24.9) |
|
| Classification according to Anthonisen criteria (N = 305), n (%) | |
| Type I | | | | 156 (51.1) |
| Type II | | | | 133 (43.6) |
| Type III | | | | 16 (5.2) |
|
| FEV1% (N = 305), mean (SD) | | | | 52.90 (15.35) |
| ≤50 | | | | 126 (41.3) |
| >50 to ≤80 | | | | 160 (52.5) |
| >80 | | | | 19 (6.2) |
|
| Number of exacerbations in the previous year (N = 305), n (%) | |
| 0 | | | | 68 (22.3) |
| 1 | | | | 154 (50.5) |
| 2 | | | | 42 (13.8) |
| 3 | | | | 26 (8.5) |
| ≥4 | | | | 15 (4.9) |
| Patient visits to physicians for exacerbations in the previous year (N = 305), n (%) | | | | 223 (73.1) |
| Number of visits to physicians for exacerbations in the past 12 months (N = 223), mean (SD) | | | | 1.72 (1.32) |
| Patients hospitalized for exacerbations in the past 12 months (N = 305), n (%) | | | | 45 (14.8) |
| Number of hospitalizations for exacerbations in the past 12 months (N = 45), mean (SD) | | | | 1.4 (0.9) |
| Length of hospitalizations for exacerbations in the past 12 months (N = 45), mean (SD) | | | | 9.0 (5.5) |
|
