Table 1.
Characteristics of participants in a national sample of 1,003 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
| Women | Men | P-value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| N=581 (58%) | N=422 (42%) | ||
| Age category (%), years | <0.001 | ||
| 40–49 | 20 | 10 | |
| 50–59 | 36 | 29 | |
| 60–69 | 26 | 35 | |
| 70 and over | 18 | 26 | |
| Region (%) | 0.86 | ||
| Northeast | 12 | 11 | |
| Midwest | 30 | 29 | |
| South | 36 | 28 | |
| West | 22 | 22 | |
| Race/Ethnicity (%) | 0.85 | ||
| White | 88 | 89 | |
| African American | 6 | 5 | |
| Hispanic | 3 | 2 | |
| Other | 3 | 4 | |
| Educational attainment | 0.91 | ||
| No high school degree | 13 | 17 | |
| High school degree | 38 | 34 | |
| Some college | 37 | 31 | |
| College graduate | 12 | 18 | |
| Work status | <0.001 | ||
| Fulltime | 12 | 21 | |
| Part-time or unemployed | 16 | 12 | |
| Disabled | 34 | 20 | |
| Retired | 32 | 47 | |
| Other | 6 | 0 | |
| Gross household income in 2004 | <0.001 | ||
| $15,000 or less | 41 | 23 | |
| $15,001–$25,000 | 18 | 21 | |
| $25,001–$35,000 | 16 | 18 | |
| $35,001–$50,000 | 13 | 17 | |
| $50,001 or above | 4 | 6 | |
| Ever smoker (%) | 93 | 96 | 0.04 |
| Current smoking (%) | 47 | 39 | 0.01 |
| Packyears (mean ± SD) | 32 ± 13 | 37 ± 13 | 0.32 |
| Concurrent diagnosis of asthma (%) | 62 | 37 | <0.001 |
| Symptoms every/most days for three consecutive months or more in past year (%) | |||
| Coughed | 66 | 60 | 0.06 |
| Brought up phlegm | 56 | 56 | 0.99 |
| Current degree of dyspnea (%), MRC Scale | 0.43 | ||
| None (0) | 2 | 4 | |
| I only get breathless after strenuous exercise (1) | 9 | 15 | |
| I get breathless when hurrying on level ground or walking up a slight incline (2) | 23 | 26 | |
| I walk slower than people my own age (3) | 13 | 10 | |
| I have to stop for breath when walking on level ground at my own pace (3) | 13 | 14 | |
| I have to stop for breath after walking a few minutes on level ground (4) | 30 | 23 | |
| I am too breathless to leave the house (5) | 10 | 8 | |
| Health status (%) | 0.001 | ||
| Excellent | 1 | 3 | |
| Very good | 7 | 8 | |
| Good | 21 | 31 | |
| Fair | 38 | 31 | |
| Poor | 32 | 28 | |
| COPD hospitalization ever (%) | 44 | 38 | 0.09 |
| Number of COPD hospitalizations in last 5 years | |||
| 1 | 16 | 25 | 0.47 |
| 2–4 | 44 | 54 | |
| 5 or more | 31 | 18 | |
| Health Insurance* | |||
| Government | |||
| Medicare | 48 | 48 | 0.95 |
| Medicaid | 22 | 10 | <0.001 |
| Veterans Administration | 4 | 17 | <0.001 |
| Employer-based | 33 | 37 | 0.01 |
| Self-financed | 15 | 13 | 0.43 |
| None | 11 | 14 | 0.39 |
| Insurance coverage of drug costs | 0.26 | ||
| Most or all | 62 | 68 | |
| Some, little or none | 34 | 29 | |
*
More than one response was permitted.