Subject: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common disease worldwide. This study aimed to investigate the health status of patients with newly diagnosed COPD.
Methods: A total of 45 healthy controls and 218 patients with newly diagnosed COPD were recruited. Pulmonary function test (PFT) values, COPD assessment test (CAT) scores, exacerbation history, and demographics were recorded.
Results: Forced expiratory volume in 1 s percent (FEV1%) predicted was significantly decreased and the CAT score was significantly increased in patients with COPD compared with healthy controls (P <0.001). Among the COPD patients, the most commonly reported respiratory symptoms were cough (86.7%), sputum (80.3%), and dyspnea (45%). A total of 86.2% patients were in the moderate or severe stage (spirometric classification) of COPD, and 71.5% were in Group C or Group D (combined assessment). A total of 33.9% of the patients had 2 or more exacerbations in the previous year. Nearly half of the patients (45.4%) had a high CAT score of ≥ 10. Patients with a history of more exacerbations had a higher CAT score.
Conclusions: Most COPD patients were symptomatic and appeared to have moderate to severe airflow limitation or a high risk of exacerbation before definitely being diagnosed with COPD using the PFT.