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. 2016 Sep 10;17(1):112. doi: 10.1186/s12931-016-0425-5

Table 1.

Risk factors for exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [6, 2123, 25, 122]

Risk factors
Older age
Lower body mass index
Continued smoking
Poor exercise capacity
Severity of airflow obstruction
Previous exacerbations (including hospitalizations for exacerbations)
Longer duration of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Co-morbidities (e.g. bronchiectasis, cardiovascular disease, pulmonary hypertension, gastroesophageal reflux)
Respiratory tract infections (viral and bacterial
Chronic bronchial mucus production
Environmental pollutants
Colder weather/temperature