Table 1.
Sociodemographic, lifestyle, clinical, and occupational characteristics of COPD patients of working age recruited to the Birmingham COPD Cohort Study
| Participant characteristics | Male, number (%); n=343 |
Female, number (%); n=265 |
Total number (%); n=608 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sociodemographic characteristics | |||
| Age categories (years) | |||
| 38–49 | 40 (11.7) | 28 (10.6) | 68 (11.2) |
| 50–59 | 125 (36.4) | 128 (48.3) | 253 (41.6) |
| 60–64 | 178 (51.9) | 109 (41.1) | 287 (47.2) |
| Education level | |||
| Degree or higher level | 33 (12.1) | 25 (12.0) | 58 (12.0) |
| A level/AS level or equivalent | 21 (7.7) | 15 (7.2) | 36 (7.5) |
| GCSE, CSE, O level, or equivalent | 73 (26.7) | 67 (32.1) | 140 (29.1) |
| No formal qualification | 146 (53.5) | 102 (48.8) | 248 (51.5) |
| IMD score quintiles | |||
| 110 (32.4) | 74 (27.9) | 184 (30.4) | |
| 70 (20.6) | 66 (24.9) | 136 (22.5) | |
| 160 (47.1) | 125 (47.2) | 285 (47.1) | |
| Lifestyle characteristics | |||
| Smoking status | |||
| Never smoked | 23 (7.2) | 19 (7.9) | 42 (7.5) |
| Ex-smoker | 135 (42.5) | 104 (43.2) | 239 (42.8) |
| Current smoker | 160 (50.3) | 118 (49.0) | 278 (49.7) |
| Clinical characteristics | |||
| MRC dyspnea grade | |||
| 81 (24.8) | 44 (17.2) | 125 (21.4) | |
| 57 (17.4) | 46 (18.0) | 103 (17.8) | |
| 68 (20.8) | 62 (24.2) | 130 (22.3) | |
| 121 (37.0) | 104 (40.6) | 225 (38.6) | |
| CAT score | |||
| 40 (15.1) | 26 (12.5) | 66 (14.0) | |
| 102 (38.5) | 72 (34.6) | 174 (36.8) | |
| 87 (32.8) | 79 (38.0) | 166 (35.1) | |
| 36 (13.6) | 31 (14.9) | 67 (14.2) | |
| Degree of airflow obstruction (GOLD stage)a,b | |||
| Mild | 91 (28.0) | 84 (32.9) | 175 (30.2) |
| Moderate | 154 (47.4) | 133 (52.2) | 287 (49.5) |
| Severe to very severe | 80 (24.6) | 38 (14.9) | 118 (20.3) |
| Exacerbations in the last 12 months | |||
| 0 | 146 (47.7) | 82 (33.7) | 228 (41.5) |
| 1–2 | 110 (36.0) | 92 (37.9) | 202 (36.8) |
| 3+ | 50 (16.3) | 69 (28.4) | 119 (21.7) |
| Modified BODE index score quartilesa | |||
| 103 (41.2) | 82 (39.1) | 185 (40.2) | |
| 72 (28.8) | 57 (27.1) | 129 (28.0) | |
| 46 (18.4) | 49 (23.3) | 95 (20.7) | |
| 29 (11.6) | 22 (10.5) | 51 (11.1) | |
| Number of comorbidities | |||
| 0 | 64 (18.7) | 25 (9.4) | 89 (14.6) |
| 1–2 | 140 (40.8) | 110 (41.5) | 250 (41.1) |
| 3+ | 139 (40.5) | 130 (49.1) | 269 (44.2) |
| Comorbidities | |||
| Cardiovascular disease | 155 (51.0) | 113 (46.9) | 268 (49.2) |
| Depression | 86 (28.1) | 95 (38.8) | 181 (32.9) |
| Gastrointestinal disease | 89 (27.2) | 71 (28.4) | 160 (27.7) |
| Osteoarthritis | 42 (14.4) | 47 (19.8) | 89 (16.8) |
| Diabetes | 46 (15.3) | 27 (11.2) | 73 (13.5) |
| Rheumatoid arthritis | 29 (10.0) | 37 (15.5) | 66 (12.5) |
| Cancer | 18 (6.0) | 25 (10.3) | 43 (7.9) |
| BMI categories | |||
| Underweight (<18.5) | 8 (2.5) | 8 (3.1) | 16 (2.8) |
| Normal (18.5–24.9) | 83 (25.5) | 73 (28.4) | 156 (26.8) |
| Overweight (25–29) | 132 (40.6) | 73 (28.4) | 205 (35.2) |
| Obese (30–39.0) | 96 (29.5) | 76 (29.6) | 172 (29.6) |
| Severe obesity (≥40.0) | 6 (1.9) | 27 (10.5) | 33 (5.7) |
| Mean sit-to-stand repetitions (SD) | 20.8 (6.6) | 19.8 (6.6) | 20.4 (6.6) |
| Occupational characteristics | |||
| Occupational background (SOC 2010) | |||
| Managers, directors, and senior officials | 20 (5.9) | 17 (6.6) | 37 (6.2) |
| Professional | 27 (8.0) | 28 (10.9) | 55 (9.2) |
| Associate professional and technical | 28 (8.3) | 11 (4.3) | 39 (6.5) |
| Administrative and secretarial | 5 (1.5) | 48 (18.7) | 53 (8.9) |
| Skilled trade | 116 (34.2) | 12 (4.7) | 128 (21.5) |
| Caring, leisure, and other services | 7 (2.1) | 38 (14.8) | 45 (7.6) |
| Sales and customer service | 7 (2.1) | 21 (8.2) | 28 (4.7) |
| Process, plant, and machine operatives | 87 (25.7) | 39 (15.2) | 126 (21.1) |
| Elementary | 42 (12.4) | 43 (16.7) | 85 (14.3) |
| Exposures to VGDF in longest held job | |||
| 65 (19.2) | 129 (50.4) | 194 (32.6) | |
| 129 (38.1) | 73 (28.5) | 202 (34.0) | |
| 78 (23.0) | 49 (19.1) | 127 (21.3) | |
| 67 (19.8) | 5 (2.0) | 72 (12.1) |
Notes:
Airflow obstruction based on postbronchodilator FEV1 % predicted (mild: FEV1 ≥80% predicted; moderate: 50% ≤ FEV1 <80% predicted; severe: 30% ≤ FEV1 <50% predicted, and very severe: FEV1 <30% predicted);
Includes 94 participants (male: n=38 and female: n=56) who did not have airflow obstruction on the day of assessment. Total numbers may differ due to some missing data.
Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index; BODE, body mass index, airflow obstruction, dyspnea, and exercise; CAT, COPD Assessment Test; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; FEV1, forced expiratory volume in 1 s; GOLD, Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease; IMD, index of multiple deprivation; MRC, Medical Research Council; QOL, quality of life; SD, standard deviation; SOC, standard occupational classification; VGDF, vapors, gases, dusts, or fumes.