Patient characteristics at the time of inclusion
| Age years | 66.4±9.9 (n=273) |
| Male | 71.7 |
| Occupational status | |
| Employed | 13.4 |
| Unemployed | 4.0 |
| Retired | 71.7 |
| Long-term sick leave | 9.4 |
| Active smoker | 33.0 |
| Cumulative smoking pack-years | 29.0±19.4 (n=87) |
| GOLD stage for severity of airflow obstruction | |
| II | 33.7 |
| III | 36.2 |
| IV | 30.1 |
| GOLD “ABCD” category | |
| A | 8.3 |
| B | 19.9 |
| C | 8.0 |
| D | 59.8 |
| Exacerbations in the past 12 months | |
| ≥1 exacerbation | 52.2 |
| Exacerbations | 1.8±1.1 |
| FEV1 % predicted | 44.8±16.1 (n=264) |
| FRC % predicted | 149.4±43.9 (n=145) |
| IC/TLC ratio | 0.3±0.1 (n=183) |
| Concomitant diseases# | |
| Cardiovascular disease | 55.8 |
| Neuropsychiatric disease | 31.2 |
Data are presented as mean±sd or %, unless otherwise stated. GOLD: Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease; FEV1: forced expiratory volume in 1 s; FRC: functional residual capacity; IC/TLC: inspiratory capacity/total lung capacity. #: from medical history and/or patient's files.