Baseline patient characteristics of the study population, grouped by the number of exacerbations during the 12 months prior to the index date
| Exacerbations | p-value# | |||
| 0 | 1 | ≥2 | ||
| Patients | 15 330 (81.5) | 2219 (11.9) | 1175 (6.3) | |
| Age | 48.3±19.3 | 51.4±18.5 | 55.6±17.9 | <0.001 |
| Female | 9470 (61.8) | 1503 (67.7) | 792 (67.4) | <0.001 |
| Neutrophils cells·mm−3 | 5.1±2.7 (n=1407) | 5.6±2.8 (n=370) | 6.1±3.0 (n=291) | <0.001 |
| Eosinophils ×103 cells·µL−1 | 0.31±0.39 (n=2362) | 0.33±0.52 (n=482) | 0.40±0.62 (n=351) | 0.001 |
| BMI | 27.6±6.0 (n=8109) | 27.8±6.0 (n=1182) | 27.5±6.0 (n=668) | 0.304 |
| FEV1 % pred | 85.1±20.6 (n=1176) | 81.7±23.3 (n=272) | 70.8±26.0 (n=167) | <0.001 |
| FVC % pred | 95.9±18.6 (n=1049) | 95.1±19.1 (n=224) | 87.6±20.8 (n=136) | <0.001 |
| SABAs | 4642 (30.3) | 1053 (47.5) | 683 (58.1) | <0.001 |
| LABAs | 1554 (10.1) | 351 (15.8) | 244 (20.8) | <0.001 |
| ICSs | 4211 (27.5) | 814 (36.7) | 447 (38.0) | <0.001 |
| Fixed ICS/LABA combination | 3709 (24.2) | 827 (37.3) | 607 (51.7) | <0.001 |
| Any ICS | 7610 (49.6) | 1530 (68.9) | 932 (79.3) | <0.001 |
| LTRAs | 718 (4.7) | 207 (9.3) | 229 (19.5) | <0.001 |
| Long-acting anticholinergics | 576 (3.8) | 184 (8.3) | 183 (15.6) | <0.001 |
Data are presented as n (%) or mean±sd, unless otherwise stated. BMI: body mass index; FEV1: forced expiratory volume in 1 s; FVC: forced vital capacity; SABA: short-acting β2-agonist; LABA: long-acting β2-agonist; ICS: inhaled corticosteroid; LTRA: leukotriene receptor antagonist. #: adjusted for age and sex.