Baseline characteristics of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD) for all patients and according to the frequency of exacerbations during the 6-month follow-up
| Characteristic | All patients | No exacerbation | 1 exacerbation | ≥2 exacerbations |
| Subjects | 421 | 245 | 135 | 41 |
| Male | 239 (57) | 142 (58) | 79 (59) | 18 (44) |
| Age | 66 (41–88) | 67 (41–88) | 66 (45–86) | 64 (44–80) |
| FEV1 % pred pre-BD | 45 (13–83) | 45 (16–83) | 45 (14–70) | 42 (13–68) |
| Pre-BD FEV1 % pred ≤50% | 275 (65) | 158 (64) | 87 (64) | 30 (73) |
| FEV1/FVC pre-BD | 0.52 (0.24–0.88) | 0.52 (0.24–0.80) | 0.51 (0.26–0.71) | 0.50 (0.29–0.88) |
| Current smoker | 168 (40) | 94 (38) | 60 (44) | 14 (34) |
| Smoking habits pack-yrs | 46 (10–150) | 47 (11–150) | 45 (10–117) | 41 (12–98) |
| Years since COPD diagnosis# | 8 (0.0–60.0) | 8 (0–60.0) | 8 (0.1–28.1) | 9 (0.2–32.8) |
| Exacerbations | ||||
| Past year | 1.6 (0–12) | 1.4 (0–12) | 1.7 (0–6) | 2.2 (0–6) |
| Past 3 yrs | 4.0 (2–20) | 3.7 (2–20) | 4.3 (2–14) | 5.1 (2–10) |
| Inhaled medication | ||||
| SABA | 247 (59) | 141 (58) | 80 (59) | 26 (63) |
| Anticholinergic | 154 (37) | 79 (32) | 55 (41) | 20 (49) |
| Combined SABA and anticholinergic | 134 (32) | 78 (32) | 44 (33) | 12 (29) |
| ICS | 209 (50) | 121 (49) | 67 (50) | 21 (51) |
| LABA | 61 (14) | 32 (13) | 22 (16) | 7(17) |
| Combined LABA and ICS | 4 (1) | 2 (0.8) | 2 (1.5) | 0 (0) |
| Participation in pulmonary rehabilitation programme | 28 (6.7) | 8 (3.3) | 13 (9.6) | 7 (17.1) |
| MRC dyspnoea | 2.9 (2–5) | 2.8 (2–5) | 2.9 (2–4) | 3.2 (2–4) |
| SGRQ | ||||
| Activity score | 62.9 (0–100) | 62.1 (0–100) | 63.1 (0–100) | 67.7 (35.6–92.9) |
| Impact score | 31.8 (0–83.8) | 30.9 (0–83.8) | 32.8 (0–83.6) | 33.9 (1.6–65.3) |
| Total score | 44.2 (0–89.3) | 43.1 (8.7–82.7) | 44.8 (0–89.3) | 48.4 (22.2–72.2) |
Data are presented as n, n (%) or mean (range). FEV1: forced expiratory volume in one second; % pred: % predicted; BD: bronchodilator; FVC: forced vital capacity; SABA: short-acting β2-agonist; ICS: inhaled corticosteroids; LABA: long-acting β2-agonists; MRC: Medical Research Council; SGRQ: St George’s Respiratory Questionnaire. #: there were two subjects with a diagnosis of COPD occurring at visit 1 (yr since COPD diagnosis: 0). All patients were started on combination ICS/LABA as part of standard therapy in the study.