TABLE 1.
PARTICIPANT CHARACTERISTICS
| Quartile of Delay |
|||||
| No. | <1 yr | 1–2 yr | 2–4 yr | 4 yr | |
| No. | 33 | 32 | 33 | 31 | |
| Age, yr | 129 | 64 (6) | 62 (10) | 62 (8) | 65 (6) |
| Male | 129 | 69% | 66% | 91% | 77% |
| Race/ethnicity | |||||
| Non-Hispanic white | 88% | 78% | 81% | 90% | |
| Non-Hispanic black | 3% | 3% | 9% | 3% | |
| Hispanic (any race) | 6% | 9% | 9% | 3% | |
| Other | 3% | 9% | 0% | 3% | |
| Body mass index, kg/m2 | 129 | 30 (6) | 27 (4) | 28 (6) | 28 (4) |
| Former or current smoker* | 128 | 48% | 66% | 73% | 63% |
| Cigarette pack-years* | 128 | 18 (13–41) | 18 (5–38) | 17 (6–24) | 24 (14–47) |
| FVC, % predicted | 129 | 54 (21) | 50 (21) | 54 (18) | 54 (23) |
| DlCO, % predicted | 123 | 41 (9) | 38 (14) | 41 (17) | 38 (11) |
| NYHA class | 129 | ||||
| I–II | 64% | 47% | 52% | 45% | |
| III–IV | 36% | 53% | 48% | 55% | |
| Months from evaluation to enrollment† | 129 | 4 (0–16) | 7 (0–21) | 2 (0–10) | 1 (0–9) |
| Site of initial tertiary care | 129 | ||||
| Columbia | 91% | 88% | 82% | 84% | |
| Other | 9% | 12% | 18% | 16% | |
| Timing of oxygen initiation | 129 | ||||
| Before tertiary care | 55% | 56% | 61% | 68% | |
| After tertiary care | 33% | 31% | 30% | 29% | |
| Not initiated | 12% | 13% | 9% | 3% | |
| Therapies | 129 | ||||
| Prednisone | 42% | 38% | 24% | 33% | |
| Azathioprine | 9% | 13% | 6% | 3% | |
| N-Acetylcysteine | 30% | 38% | 30% | 29% | |
| Other‡ | 3% | 3% | 3% | 6% | |
| Comorbidities | 129 | ||||
| Coronary artery disease | 15% | 19% | 18% | 26% | |
| Diabetes mellitus | 18% | 13% | 12% | 39% | |
| History of malignancy | 15% | 19% | 15% | 10% | |
| Gastroesophageal reflux | 21% | 28% | 27% | 65% | |
| Health insurance | 129 | ||||
| Private | 76% | 75% | 61% | 58% | |
| Medicaid | 6% | 3% | 9% | 10% | |
| Medicare | 45% | 56% | 45% | 61% | |
| Educational attainment | 129 | ||||
| Less than high school | 6% | 13% | 12% | 6% | |
| Completed high school | 39% | 41% | 39% | 36% | |
| Associate's degree | 9% | 9% | 12% | 13% | |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 45% | 38% | 36% | 45% | |
Definition of abbreviations: DlCO = diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide; NYHA = New York Heart Association.
Data represent means (standard deviation), medians (interquartile range), and percentages.
All participants had health insurance.
*
One participant with a delay over 4 years was a current smoker. Pack-year data are shown for former/current smokers only (n = 80).
†
The time from evaluation at a tertiary care center to enrollment in the study was the entry time into the cohort in time-to-event analyses.
‡
Other medications: pirfenidone (n = 3), cyclophosphamide (n = 1), IFN-γ (n = 1).