Table 1.
General characteristics of the study population
| Variables | COPD (N = 1,154) |
HF (N = 813) |
COPD + HF (N = 376) |
p-Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, years (N = 2,343) | 80 [74; 85] | 82 [77; 87] ** | 82 [76; 87] ** | < 0.001 |
| Sex, male (N = 2,343) | 713 (62) | 350 (43) ** | 230 (61) §§ | < 0.001 |
| BMI, kg∙m2 (N = 2,037) | 25.5 [22.7; 28.7] | 25.9 [22.8; 29.4] | 26 [23; 29.6] | 0.108 |
| Regions of enrollment (N = 2,324) | 0.965 | |||
| Northern Italy | 616 (54) | 430 (54) | 198 (53) | |
| Center Italy | 215 (19) | 156 (19) | 68 (18) | |
| Southern Italy | 316 (27) | 217 (27) | 108 (29) | |
| Marital status, married or widow (N = 2,251) | 1007 (90) | 708 (91) | 325 (91) | 0.737 |
| Living arrangement, alone/partner/sons (N = 2,229) | 257 (23)/528 (48)/145 (13) | 168 (22)/330 (43)/153 (20) * | 84 (23)/148 (41)/64 (18) | 0.006 |
| Low-income work (N = 1,714) | 672 (80) | 504 (84) | 234 (86) * | 0.044 |
| Years of education, mean (95% CI) (N = 2,042)# | 7.2 (6.9—7.4) | 6.9 (6.7—7.3) | 6.5 (6.1—6.9) * § | 0.014 |
| Caregiver (N = 2,300) | 631 (56) | 510 (64) ** | 234 (63) * | < 0.001 |
| Partner/sons/other (N = 1,363) | 229 (36)/274 (44)/124 (20) | 127 (25)/270 (54)/106 (21) ** | 80 (34)/105 (45)/48 (21) § | 0.001 |
| Previously institutionalized (N = 2,329) | 66 (5.8) | 55 (6.8) | 20 (5.4) | 0.534 |
| Previously hospitalized (N = 2,056) | 428 (43) | 362 (51) * | 206 (61) ** § | < 0.001 |
| Smoking habit, former/current (N = 2,276) | 576 (51)/187 (17) | 267 (34)/33 (4.2) ** | 200 (54)/41 (11) * §§ | < 0.001 |
| Pack/year (N = 842) | 39 [20; 55] | 27.5 [12.37; 44.25] ** | 37.5 [20; 61.25] §§ | < 0.001 |
| Alcohol habit, former/current (N = 2,249) | 173 (16)/406 (36) | 96 (12)/216 (28) ** | 48 (14)/128 (35) § | < 0.001 |
| CIRS-SI (N = 2,341) | 1.69 [1.53; 1.92] | 1.69 [1.53; 2] | 1.85 [1.69; 2.08] ** §§ | < 0.001 |
| CIRS-CI (N = 2,341) | 3 [2; 5] | 3 [2; 5] | 4 [3; 5] ** §§ | < 0.001 |
| Arterial hypertension (N = 2,342) | 907 (79) | 688 (85) * | 312 (83) | 0.003 |
| Hypercholesterolemia (N = 2,343) | 61 (5.3) | 42 (5.2) | 22 (5.9) | 0.883 |
| CAD (N = 2,343) | 278 (24) | 193 (24) | 108 (29) | 0.142 |
| Atrial fibrillation (N = 2,343) | 287 (25) | 356 (44) ** | 162 (43) ** | < 0.001 |
| PAD (N = 2,343) | 64 (5.5) | 32 (3.9) | 23 (6.1) | 0.168 |
| Diabetes (N = 2,343) | 312 (27) | 263 (32) * | 139 (37) ** | < 0.001 |
| Chronic kidney disease (N = 2,343) | 268 (23) | 295 (36) ** | 164 (44) **§ | < 0.001 |
| Osteoporosis (N = 2,343) | 98 (8.5) | 55 (6.8) | 22 (5.9) | 0.153 |
| Dementia (N = 2,343) | 90 (7.8) | 70 (8.6) | 23 (6.1) | 0.330 |
| Depression (N = 2,343) | 83 (7.2) | 47 (5.8) | 18 (4.8) | 0.185 |
| Cancer (N = 1,311) | 74 (12) | 55 (11) | 33 (15) | 0.259 |
Data are shown as numbers of patients (percentage) or medians [1st quartile; 3rd quartile]. Percentages are calculated for non-missing data
In bold are significant variables
COPD indicates Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, HF heart failure, BMI body mass index, CIRS-SI and CIRS-CI Cumulative Illness Rating Scale, severity and comorbidity index, respectively, CAD coronary artery disease, PAD peripheral arterial disease
* and **p < 0.05 and p < 0.001 versus COPD
§ and §§ p < 0.05 and p < 0.001 versus HF
# Values of medians [25°–75° percentiles] were 5 [5, 8] in all three groups, not descriptive of differences