Demographic and functional characteristics of the study population based on the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease 2011 strategy
| Characteristics | All | Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D | p-value |
| Patients n | 609 | 142 | 59 | 134 | 274 | |
| Males | 557 (91.5) | 130 (91.5) | 52 (88.1) | 124 (92.5) | 251 (91.6) | 0.801 |
| Age years mean±sd | 71.5±9.1 | 70.3±9.8 | 72.7±8.7 | 71.8±8.7 | 71.6±8.9 | 0.551 |
| BMI kg·m−2 | 26.5 (24.1–31.3) | 28.8 (25.4–30.5) | 25.8 (24.9–29.3) | 28.4 (24.6–31.3) | 25.2 (21.6– 31.9) | 0.002 |
| Current smokers | 163 (26.8) | 42 (29.6) | 19 (32.2) | 40 (29.9) | 62 (22.6) | 0.089 |
| Smoking history pack-years | 60.0 (50.0–90.0) | 60.0 (50.0–80.0) | 75.0 (56.0–100.0) | 70.0 (55.0–92.5) | 60.0 (50.0–82.5) | 0.014 |
| FEV1 % pred | 52.4±19.9 | 69.6±14.4 | 67.7±13.8 | 53.9±16.1 | 39.5±15.2 | <0.001 |
| Charlson comorbidity index score | 3.0 (2.0–4.0) | 2.0 (1.0–3.0) | 3.0 (2.0–3.0) | 3.0 (1.0–4.0) | 3.0 (2.0–4.0) | <0.001 |
| CVD | 331 (54.4) | 45 (31.7) | 19 (32.2) | 65 (48.5) | 202 (73.7) | <0.001 |
| DM | 195 (32.0) | 14 (9.9) | 21 (35.6) | 31 (23.1) | 127 (47.1) | <0.001 |
| AH | 410 (67.3) | 79 (55.6) | 28 (47.5) | 99 (73.9) | 204 (74.5) | <0.001 |
| Patients with AECOPD# | 472 (77.5) | 87 (61.3) | 35 (59.3) | 106 (79.1) | 244 (89.1) | <0.001 |
| AECOPD per patient per year# | 2.0 (1.0–3.0) | 1.0 (0.0–1.0) | 2.0 (0.0–3.0) | 2.0 (1.0–3.0) | 3.0 (2.0–5.0) | <0.001 |
| Patients with hospitalisations# | 290 (47.6) | 34 (23.9) | 22.0 (37.3) | 53.0 (39.6) | 181 (66.1) | <0.001 |
| Hospitalisations per patient per year# | 0.0 (0.0–2.0) | 0.0 (0.0–0.0) | 0.0 (0.0–1.0) | 0.0 (0.0–1.0) | 1.0 (0.0–2.0) | <0.001 |
Data are presented as n (%), mean±sd or median (interquartile range), unless otherwise stated. BMI: body mass index; FEV1: forced expiratory volume in 1 s; CVD: cardiovascular disease; DM: diabetes mellitus; AH: arterial hypertension; AECOPD: acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. #: events in the 1-year follow-up. Bold indicates statistical significance.