Table 1.
Characteristics of study population and comparisons according to randomization arm. Multicenter, prospective, randomized, open-label study, conducted between November 2022 and June 2023 at pulmonary outpatient clinics in Türkiye (N=397)
| Characteristics | Total (N=397) n (%) | Usual support (N=199) n (%) | Immediate support (N=198) n (%) | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airway disease | 0.266 | |||
| COPD | 220 (55.4) | 106 (57.6) | 114 (57.6) | |
| Asthma | 165 (41.5) | 89 (44.7) | 76 (38.4) | |
| Bronchiectasis | 12 (3.02) | 4 (2.0) | 8 (4.0) | |
| Age (years), mean (SD) | 53.5 (13.1) | 54.4 (13.1) | 52.7 (13.1) | 0.251 |
| Sex | 0.144 | |||
| Female | 130 (32.7) | 72 (36.2) | 58 (29.3) | |
| Male | 267 (67.2) | 127 (63.8) | 140 (70.7) | |
| Marital status | 0.096 | |||
| Married | 321 (80.8) | 154 (77.4) | 167 (84.3) | |
| Single | 50 (12.5) | 27 (13.6) | 23 (11.6) | |
| Separated | 26 (6.54) | 18 (9.0) | 8 (4.0) | |
| BMI (kg/m2), mean (SD) | 26.8 (4.74) | 27.0 (5.03) | 26.7 (4.45) | 0.738 |
| Education level | 0.003 | |||
| Primary schooling | 177 (44.5) | 99 (49.7) | 78 (39.4) | |
| Secondary schooling | 63 (15.8) | 34 (17.1) | 29 (14.6) | |
| High school graduate | 95 (23.9) | 48 (24.1) | 47 (23.7) | |
| University graduate | 62 (15.6) | 18 (9.0) | 44 (22.2) | |
| Income level | 0.185 | |||
| ≤Minimum wage | 246 (62.0) | 122 (61.3) | 124 (62.6) | |
| ≤3 times the minimum wage | 112 (28.2) | 62 (31.2) | 50 (25.3) | |
| >3 times the minimum wage | 39 (9.8) | 15 (7.5) | 24 (12.1) | |
| Household member number, mean (SD) | 3.18 (1.58) | 3.16 (1.44) | 3.19 (1.70) | 0.578 |
| Occupation | 0.214 | |||
| Retired | 122 (30.7) | 64 (32.2) | 58 (29.3) | |
| Housewife | 80 (20.2) | 46 (23.1) | 34 (17.2) | |
| Employed | 161 (40.6) | 76 (38.2) | 85 (42.9) | |
| Unemployed | 34 (8.6) | 13 (6.5) | 21 (10.6) | |
| Diagnosis duration (years), mean (SD) | 6.21 (7.09) | 6.20 (7.10) | 6.21 (7.11) | 0.709 |
| Initiation age to smoking (years), mean (SD) | 19.2 (6.78) | 19.2 (6.93) | 19.3 (6.65) | 0.777 |
| Number of cigarettes smoked daily, mean (SD) | 20.8 (10.9) | 19.1 (9.78) | 22.5 (11.7) | 0.002 |
| Number of years smoking, mean (SD) | 32.7 (14.9) | 33.5 (15.1) | 32.0 (14.8) | 0.383 |
| Smoking pack-years, mean (SD) | 37.8 (25.5) | 36.8 (24.3) | 38.7 (26.7) | 0.739 |
| Fagerström test for nicotine dependence score, mean (SD) | 6.14 (2.82) | 5.78 (2.74) | 6.50 (2.85) | 0.011 |
| Presence of depression diagnosis | 68 (17.1) | 36 (18.1) | 32 (16.2) | 0.610 |
| Presence of anxiety diagnosis | 75 (18.9) | 31 (15.6) | 44 (22.2) | 0.091 |
| Presence of other comorbidities | 191 (48.1) | 104 (52.3) | 87 (43.9) | 0.097 |
| FEV1/FVC %, mean (SD) | 73.0 (13.2) | 72.4 (12.8) | 73.7 (13.6) | 0.166 |
| FEV1 %, mean (SD) | 69.1 (22.2) | 66.2 (21.5) | 72.0 (22.6) | 0.039 |
| GOLD categories of COPD patients | 0.980 | |||
| A | 65 (29.5) | 31 (29.2) | 34 (29.8) | |
| B | 90 (40.9) | 43 (40.6) | 47 (41.2) | |
| E | 65 (29.5) | 32 (30.2) | 33 (28.9) | |
| Asthma severity | 0.060 | |||
| Mild | 83 (50.6) | 39 (44.3) | 44 (57.9) | |
| Moderate | 73 (44.5) | 42 (47.7) | 31 (40.8) | |
| Severe | 8 (4.9) | 7 (8.0) | 1 (1.3) | |
| Unscheduled doctor visits in last year, mean (SD) | 0.88 (1.33) | 0.74 (1.29) | 1.02 (1.36) | 0.003 |
COPD: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. BMI: body mass index. FEV1: forced expiratory volume in first second. FVC: forced vital capacity. Following tests were used for analysis: for continuous variables Student’s t-test, for categorical variables chi-squared test.