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. 2025 Aug 22;23:493. doi: 10.1186/s12916-025-04345-y

Table 1.

Baseline characteristics of the study population across quartiles of FEV1% predicted

Quartiles of FEV1% predicted
Characteristics Q1 (lowest) Q2 Q3 Q4 (highest) Total
Age, yrs 62.8 (9.9) 59.2 (9.5) 57.9 (9.2) 57.9 (9.2) 59.4 (9.7)
Males, % 2540 (57.5) 2267 (51.3) 1911 (43.2) 1373 (31.1) 8091 (45.8)
White participants, % 3589 (81.2) 3448 (78.0) 3534 (79.9) 3532 (79.9) 14,103 (79.8)
Education levels, %
 Low 1498 (33.9) 1210 (27.4) 970 (21.9) 871 (19.7) 4549 (25.7)
 Intermediate 1896 (42.9) 1876 (42.4) 1985 (44.9) 1940 (43.9) 7697 (43.5)
 High 1026 (23.2) 1335 (30.2) 1466 (33.2) 1610 (36.4) 5437 (30.8)
Smoking status, %
 Never 1064 (24.1) 1678 (38.0) 2082 (47.1) 2520 (57.0) 7344 (41.5)
 Former 1736 (39.3) 1574 (35.6) 1527 (34.5) 1395 (31.6) 6232 (35.2)
 Current 1620 (36.7) 1169 (26.4) 812 (18.4) 506 (11.5) 4107 (23.2)
Alcohol use, % 2376 (54.8) 2416 (54.7) 2483 (56.2) 2424 (54.8) 9699 (54.9)
 Body mass index, kg/m2 27.4 (5.3) 27.8 (5.3) 27.6 (5.1) 27.2 (4.8) 27.5 (5.1)
 Systolic blood pressure, mmHg 131.6 (21.9) 127.3 (20.7) 124.5 (19.8) 123.0 (19.3) 126.6 (20.7)
 Diastolic blood pressure, mmHg 72.8 (12.1) 73.4 (11.6) 73.1 (11.2) 72.6 (10.7) 73.0 (10.7)
Clinical history, %
 Hypertension 2013 (45.5) 1788 (40.4) 1619 (36.6) 1406 (31.8) 6826 (38.6)
 Diabetes mellitus 774 (17.5) 709 (16.0) 539 (12.2) 417 (9.4) 2439 (13.8)
 Coronary heart disease 699 (15.8) 450 (10.2) 301 (6.8) 207 (4.7) 1657 (9.4)
 Chronic heart failure 379 (8.6) 229 (5.2) 172 (3.9) 116 (2.6) 896 (5.1)
Laboratory findings
 Total cholesterol, mmol/L 5.5 (1.1) 5.5 (1.1) 5.6 (1.1) 5.6 (1.1) 5.6 (1.1)
 LDL-cholestrol, mmol/L 3.4 (1.1) 3.5 (1.1) 3.6 (1.0) 3.6 (1.1) 3.5 (1.1)
 HDL-cholestrol, mmol/L 1.3 (0.4) 1.3 (0.4) 1.3 (0.4) 1.4 (0.4) 1.3 (0.4)
 Triglycerides, mmol/L 1.6 (1.1) 1.6 (1.0) 1.5 (1.0) 1.4 (0.9) 1.6 (1.0)
 Fasting blood glucose, mmol/L 6.4 (2.5) 6.2 (2.3) 6.1 (2.2) 5.9 (1.9) 6.1 (2.3)
Electrographic findings
 Resting hear rate, bpm 67.2 (11.0) 66.1 (10.5) 65.9 (9.9) 66.1 (10.0) 66.3 (10.4)
 QTc, ms 421.1 (46.5) 417.5 (44.8) 415.6 (49.1) 416.3 (46.2) 417.6 (46.7)
 Left ventricular hypertrophy, % 185 (4.2) 137 (3.1) 98 (2.2) 79 (1.8) 499 (2.8)
Spirometry
 FEV1% predicted 64.7 (13.7) 86.1 (3.5) 97.4 (3.1) 112.2 (8.3) 90.1 (19.3) 
 FVC% predicted 78.6 (13.5) 93.3 (8.8) 102.4 (8.5) 115.0 (10.6) 97.3 (16.9)
 FEV1/FVC% predicted 84.9 (17.0) 96.1 (10.9) 98.6 (9.4) 101.0 (9.2) 95.1 (13.6)
 FEV1, L 1.9 (0.6) 2.5 (0.6) 2.8 (0.7) 3.1 (0.8) 2.6 (0.8)
 FVC, L 3.0 (0.9) 3.5 (0.9) 3.8 (1.0) 4.0 (1.0) 3.6 (1.0)
 FEV1/ FVC, % 64.7 (11.9) 73.4 (6.6) 75.9 (5.5) 77.8 (5.2) 73.0 (9.3)
Self-reported symptoms, %
 Cough 1061 (24.0) 579 (13.1) 435 (9.8) 338 (7.7) 2413 (13.7)
 Phlegm 1137 (25.7) 615 (13.9) 477 (10.8) 402 (9.1) 2631 (14.9)
 Dyspnea 1285 (29.1) 703 (15.9) 554 (12.5) 436 (9.9) 2978 (16.8)
Self-reported diagnosis, %
 Bronchitis 964 (21.8) 549 (12.4) 447 (10.1) 382 (8.6) 2342 (13.2)
 Asthma 459 (10.4) 258 (5.8) 171 (3.9) 148 (3.4) 1036 (5.9)
 Emphysema 341 (7.7) 71 (1.6) 47 (1.1) 23 (0.5) 482 (2.7)
Cardiac medication, %
 Calcium antagonist 403 (9.1) 270 (6.1) 223 (5.0) 189 (4.3) 1085 (6.1)
 Digoxin 291 (6.6) 153 (3.5) 109 (2.5) 99 (2.2) 652 (3.7)
 β-Blocker 474 (10.7) 375 (8.5) 305 (6.9) 244 (5.5) 1398 (7.9)

Abbreviations: LDL Low-density lipoprotein, HDL High-density lipoprotein, FEV1 Forced expiratory volume in 1 s, FVC Forced vital capacity

Values are mean ± SD or number (percentage) of subjects