Table 3.
Descriptive characteristics of subset with physician-diagnosed COPD in general practitioner records
| Men (n=52) | Women (n=71) | All (n=123) | p Value* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smoking % (N) | ||||
| Never | 21.2 (11) | 25.7 (18) | 23.8 (29) | 0.637† |
| Former | 67.3 (35) | 67.1 (47) | 67.2 (82) | |
| Current | 11.5 (6) | 7.1 (5) | 9.0 (11) | |
| Occupational exposure % (N) | ||||
| Heavy industry | 49.0 (25) | 19.7 (14) | 32.0 (39) | 0.001† |
| Coal mining | 17.7 (9) | 0.0 (0) | 7.4 (9) | <0.001‡ |
| Chemical | 13.7 (7) | 2.8 (2) | 7.4 (9) | 0.034‡ |
| Asbestos | 33.3 (17) | 7.1 (5) | 18.2 (22) | <0.001† |
| Non-smokers with no occupational exposures % (N) | 3.9 (2) | 18.3 (13) | 12.2 (15) | 0.023† |
| Respiratory symptoms % (N) | ||||
| Cough | 46.2 (24) | 53.5 (38) | 50.4 (62) | 0.419† |
| Wheeze | 53.9 (28) | 56.3 (40) | 55.3 (68) | 0.784† |
| Sputum production | 63.5 (33) | 54.3 (38) | 58.2 (71) | 0.310† |
| MRC dyspnoea score % (N) | ||||
| 1 | 26.8 (11) | 12.5 (7) | 18.6 (18) | 0.035§ |
| 2 | 9.8 (4) | 16.1 (9) | 13.4 (13) | |
| 3 | 34.2 (14) | 19.6 (11) | 25.8 (25) | |
| 4 | 22.0 (9) | 33.9 (19) | 28.9 (28) | |
| 5 | 7.3 (3) | 17.9 (10) | 13.4 (13) | |
| Comorbid respiratory diagnoses % (N) | ||||
| Asthma | 25.0 (13) | 49.3 (35) | 39.0 (48) | 0.006† |
| Bronchiectasis | 7.7 (4) | 2.8 (2) | 4.9 (6) | 0.240‡ |
| Asbestosis | 7.7 (4) | 0.0 (0) | 3.3 (4) | 0.030‡ |
| Pulmonary fibrosis | 0.0 (0) | 0.0 (0) | 0.0 (0) | – |
| Pneumoconiosis | 3.9 (2) | 0.0 (0) | 1.6 (2) | 0.177‡ |
| TB | 5.8 (3) | 9.9 (7) | 8.1 (10) | 0.516‡ |
| Medications % (N) | ||||
| Inhaled short-acting β-2 adrenoreceptor agonists | 36.5 (19) | 52.1 (37) | 45.5 (56) | 0.087† |
| Inhaled muscarinic antagonists | 17.3 (9) | 22.5 (16) | 20.3 (25) | 0.477† |
| Oral theophylline | 1.9 (1) | 4.2 (3) | 3.3 (4) | 0.637‡ |
| Combination short-acting bronchodilators | 1.9 (1) | 0.0 (0) | 0.8 (1) | 0.423‡ |
| Inhaled corticosteroids | 17.3 (9) | 38.0 (27) | 29.3 (36) | 0.013† |
| Combination inhaled corticosteroids and long-acting β-2 adrenoreceptor agonists | 11.5 (6) | 12.7 (9) | 12.2 (15) | 0.849† |
| Oral leukotriene receptor antagonists | 0.0 (0) | 1.4 (1) | 0.8 (1) | 1.000‡ |
| Oral mucolytics | 1.9 (1) | 1.4 (1) | 1.6 (2) | 1.000‡ |
| Oral glucocorticoid therapy | 5.8 (3) | 4.2 (3) | 4.9 (6) | 0.697‡ |
| At least 1 respiratory medication % (N) | 46.2 (24) | 66.2 (47) | 57.7 (71) | 0.026† |
| Disease count | ||||
| median (IQR) | 5 (4–7) | 6 (5–7) | 6 (4–7) | 0.156§ |
| Non-respiratory disease count | ||||
| median (IQR) | 5 (4–6) | 6 (5–7) | 6 (4–7) | 0.064§ |
*Comparison of men and women.
†χ2 test.
‡Fisher's exact test.
§Mann–Whitney U test.
Denominators vary due to missing values.