| No COPD | New COPD | Confirmed COPD | Former COPD | |
| Subjects n | 236 | 84 | 50 | 16 |
| Age years | 75.1±5.9 | 76.5±6.6 | 76.1±6.2 | 73.8±5.5 |
| Males | 103 (43.6) | 40 (47.6) | 26 (52.0) | 5 (31.3) |
| Current smokers | 15 (6.4) | 10 (11.9) | 9 (18.0) | 3 (18.8) |
| Former smokers | 122 (51.7) | 51 (60.7) | 31 (62.0) | 10 (62.5) |
| Smoking pack-years | 3.6 (0.0–20.0) | 18.8 (0.0–31.1) | 35.0 (16.5–50.0) | 15.0 (1.3–22.5) |
| Asthma | 9 (3.8) | 14 (16.7) | 7 (14.0) | 9 (56.3) |
| Hypertension | 179 (75.8) | 68 (80.9) | 28 (56.0) | 10 (62.5) |
| Diabetes mellitus | 80 (33.9) | 31 (36.9) | 14 (28.0) | 3 (18.8) |
| Atrial fibrillation | 18 (7.6) | 7 (8.3) | 7 (14.0) | 0 (0.0) |
| Stroke or TIA | 27 (11.4) | 6 (7.1) | 8 (16.0) | 3 (18.8) |
| Peripheral artery disease | 8 (0.8) | 4 (4.8) | 2 (4.0) | 2 (12.5) |
| Heart failure | 86 (36.4) | 36 (42.9) | 17 (34.0) | 3 (18.8) |
| Systolic heart failure | 31 (13.1) | 11 (13.1) | 4 (8.0) | 0 (0.0) |
| Diastolic heart failure | 55 (23.3) | 25 (29.8) | 13 (26.0) | 3 (18.8) |
| MRC dyspnoea score# | 2 (2–3) | 3 (2–4) | 3 (2–4) | 2 (2–3) |
| Exercise intolerance¶ | 2 (0–3) | 2 (1–3) | 3 (1–3) | 1 (0–4) |
| Wheeze | 33 (14.0) | 35 (41.7) | 27 (54.0) | 11 (68.8) |
| Cough | 42 (17.8) | 21 (25.0) | 21 (42.0) | 6 (37.5) |
| Allergy+ | 45 (19.1) | 14 (16.7) | 12 (24.0) | 7 (43.8) |
| Hyperresponsiveness+ | 30 (12.7) | 23 (27.4) | 14 (28.0) | 8 (50.0) |
| Pre-bronchodilator FEV1 % predicted | 95.5±16.8 | 70.8±13.8 | 64.6±17.7 | 85.1±15.9 |
| Post-bronchodilator FEV1 % predicted | 99.0±16.5 | 75.9±14.1 | 68.7±17.9 | 90.2±15.7 |
Data are presented as mean±sd, n (%) or median (interquartile range), unless otherwise stated. No COPD: no diagnosis of COPD and no COPD according to panel; new COPD: no diagnosis of COPD but COPD according to panel; confirmed COPD: diagnosis of COPD and COPD according to panel; former COPD: diagnosis of COPD but no COPD according to panel. TIA: transient ischaemic attack; MRC: Medical Research Council; FEV1: forced expiratory volume in 1 s. #: situations in which the patients are dyspnoeic are scored as 0 (never), 1 (only during strenuous exercise), 2 (walking fast or uphill), 3 (walking with people of same age), 4 (walking flat), 5 (at rest); ¶: reduced exercise tolerance scores ranging from 0 to 4 based on responses to the questions “do you have a reduced exercise tolerance as compared to others of the same age?”, “do you feel more tired than others of the same age?”, “do you feel you need more recovery time after exercise than others of the same age?” and “do you feel your heart is pounding, or feel palpitations or feel agitated during activities such as walking, gardening or housework?”; +: self-reported.