| Characteristics | Tiotropium HandiHaler | Tiotropium Respimat |
| Number of patients n | 19341 | 5181 |
| Age years | 68.49±11.53 | 68.14±11.84 |
| Sex | ||
| Male | 9955 (51.5) | 2727 (52.6) |
| Female | 9386 (48.5) | 2454 (47.4) |
| Smoking history | 15053 (77.8) | 4024 (77.7) |
| COPD diagnosis | 17909 (92.6) | 4755 (91.8) |
| COPD duration years | 5.53 (5.00) | 5.96 (4.84) |
| COPD severity n | ||
| Antibiotics in 1 year prior | 0.48±1.1 | 0.67±1.2 |
| Systemic corticosteroids in 1 year prior | 0.64±1.6 | 1.06±2.9 |
| GP visits in the 1 year prior | 8.07±6.7 | 9.60±7.7 |
| Hospitalisation for COPD exacerbation in 1 year prior | 476±2.5 | 231±4.5 |
| Consultation with respiratory physician in 1 year prior | 6145±31.8 | 2479±47.8 |
| Comorbidity (medical history of any of the conditions) | ||
| Asthma | 6091 (31.5) | 1653 (31.9) |
| Angina pectoris | 2716 (14.0) | 787 (15.2) |
| Ischaemic heart disease | 1632 (8.4) | 473 (9.1) |
| Peripheral arterial disease | 2752 (14.2) | 807 (15.6) |
| Myocardial infarction | 1413 (7.3) | 471 (9.1) |
| Stroke or TIA | 1618 (8.4) | 537 (10.4) |
| Heart failure | 2062 (10.7) | 693 (13.3) |
| Arrhythmia | 1831 (9.5) | 567 (10.9) |
| Hypertension | 7799 (40.3) | 2153 (41.6) |
| Dyslipidaemia (lipid disorders) | 3268 (16.9) | 1080 (20.8) |
| Cancer | 3142 (16.2) | 914 (17.6) |
| Pneumonia (1 year before) | 1177 (6.1) | 458 (8.8) |
| Parkinsonism | 169 (0.9) | 43 (0.8) |
| Depression | 2619 (13.5) | 748 (14.4) |
| Dementia | 379 (1.9) | 95 (1.8) |
| Diabetes mellitus | 3585 (18.5) | 1040 (20.1) |
| Renal failure | 1650 (8.5) | 518 (10.0) |
| Use of concomitant medication at start of prescription | ||
| Central nervous system drugs | ||
| Opioids | 1131 (5.8) | 364 (7.0) |
| Hypnotic and sedatives | 1916 (9.9) | 535 (10.3) |
| Anxiolytics | 1995 (10.3) | 508 (9.8) |
| Antidepressants (SSRI) | 918 (4.7) | 274 (5.3) |
| Antipsychotics | 314 (1.6) | 62 (1.2) |
| Antiparkinson drugs | 132 (0.7) | 40 (0.8) |
| Anticholinergics | 771 (4.0) | 234 (4.5) |
| Antihistaminics | 1018 (5.3) | 285 (5.5) |
| Drugs affecting cerebrovascular and cardiovascular disease | ||
| Nitrates | 1137 (5.9) | 383 (7.4) |
| Vitamin K antagonists | 1723 (8.9) | 465 (9.0) |
| Lipid lowering drugs | 5095 (26.3) | 1509 (29.1) |
| Antiplatelets | 4519 (23.4) | 1394 (26.9) |
| Diuretics | 4006 (20.7) | 1209 (23.3) |
| β-blockers | 4189 (21.7) | 1199 (23.1) |
| CCB | 2494 (12.9) | 739 (14.3) |
| ACE inhibitors | 5591 (28.9) | 1602 (30.9) |
| Anti-arrhythmic drugs | 312 (1.6) | 104 (2.0) |
| Other drugs | ||
| Corticosteroids | 1839 (9.5) | 728 (14.1) |
| Antibiotics | 3663 (18.9) | 1135 (21.9) |
| NSAIDs | 1495 (7.7) | 386 (7.5) |
| Respiratory drugs | ||
| Mucolytics | 903 (4.7) | 304 (5.9) |
| LTRA | 376 (4.7) | 126 (2.4) |
| SAAC (Ipratropium) | 997 (5.2) | 481 (9.3) |
| SABA | 3231 (16.7) | 1092 (21.1) |
| LABA | 7333 (37.9) | 1653 (37.9) |
| ICS | 7961 (41.2) | 2137 (41.2) |
| Xanthines | 196 (1.0) | 67 (1.3) |
Data are presented as n (%) or mean±sd, unless otherwise stated. COPD: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; GP: general practitioner; TIA: transient ischaemic attack; SSRI: selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor; CCB: calcium channel blockers; ACE: angiotensin-converting enzyme; NSAID: non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug; LTRA: leukotriene receptor antagonist; SAAC: short-acting anticholinergics; SABA: short-acting β-agonists; LABA: long-acting β-agonists; ICS: inhaled corticosteroids. Bold values are statistically significant different between tiotropium Respimat SMI against tiotropium HandiHaler.