Table 1.

Demographic variables and disease characteristics of COPD patients (n=125)

Variable	Total (n=125, 100%)		Non-dyspnea group (n=61, 48.8%)		Dyspnea group (n=64, 51.2%)		P-value
	Mean	SD	Mean	SD	Mean	SD
Age (years)a	77.36	10.26	72.15	10.84	78.42	8.70	<0.001d
Body mass index	23.07	3.63	23.24	3.25	22.91	3.97	0.62
CATa	13.97	9.83	8.18	6.45	19.48	9.35	<0.001d
Exacerbation (times/last year)a	0.64	0.71	0.48	0.79	0.80	0.60	<0.001d
Number of medications used	2.39	1.16	2.21	1.08	2.56	1.22	0.093
CES-Da	9.59	6.34	8.25	5.08	10.88	7.14	0.07
	Number of subjects	%	Number of subjects	%	Number of subjects	%
Educational attainment							0.04c
Middle school or below	71	56.80	29	47.50	42	65.60
High school or above	54	43.20	32	52.50	22	34.40
Monthly income (NT$)							0.19
≤16,304	79	63.20	35	57.40	44	68.80
≥16,305	46	36.80	26	42.60	20	31.30
Smoking status							0.48
Smoker	28	22.40	12	19.70	16	25.00
Non-smoker	97	77.60	49	80.30	48	75.00
Charlson Comorbidity Index							0.98
1	91	72.80	44	73.33	47	73.44
2	20	16.00	10	16.67	10	15.63
≥3	13	10.40	6	10	7	10.94
Lung function (FEV1 pred%)b							0.01c
Mild obstruction	24	19.20	9	14.80	15	23.40
Moderate obstruction	67	53.60	41	67.20	26	40.60
Severe or worse obstruction	34	27.20	11	18.00	23	36.00

Notes:

^aMann–Whitney U test;

^bLung function was used to stratify the severity of airway obstruction according to GOLD severity definition.

^cP<0.05;

^dP<0.001.

Abbreviations: CES-D, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale; FEV₁ pred%, predicted percentage for the forced expiratory volume during the first second; CAT, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease assessment test.