Table 1.
—Characteristics of Patients
| Characteristics | No COPD | Mild COPD | Moderate COPD | Severe COPD |
| GOLD | … | Stage I | Stage II | Stage III, IV |
| No. of patients | 10 | 13 | 17 | 15 |
| Age, y | 56.8 ± 14.0 | 71.7 ± 5.8 | 66.7 ± 10.4 | 56.7 ± 6.4 |
| Sex, male (female) | 0 (10) | 11 (2) | 12 (5) | 8 (7) |
| FEV1/FVC, % | 81.2 ± 5.5 | 62.6 ± 5.4 | 58.2 ± 7.3 | 28.7 ± 9.2 |
| FEV1 % predicted | 92.7 ± 8.6 | 91.8 ± 13.5 | 61.3 ± 8.3 | 21.3 ± 7.4 |
| BDR, % | 2.2 ± 3.3 | 5.8 ± 5.8 | 5.5 ± 4.7 | 4.5 ± 5.4 |
| Smoking, pack-years | 0 | 30.4 ± 32.2 | 32.4 ± 35.2 | 43.2 ± 38.6 |
| Current smoker, No. | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Medication, No. | ||||
| Oral corticosteroid | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Inhaled corticosteroid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Diagnosis of lung cancer, No. | 3 | 7 | 13 | 2 |
Values are expressed as means ± SD. BDR = bronchodilator response; GOLD = Global Initiative for Obstructive Lung Disease.