Table 1.
Patient demographics of the early versus late diagnosis populations
| Variablea | Early diagnosis (n=3,870) |
Late diagnosis (n=8,827) |
p-value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mean age (years) | 68.72 | 69.47 | 0.0005 |
| Gender, n (%) | <0.0001 | ||
| Female | 1,821 (47.05) | 5,074 (57.48) | |
| Male | 2,049 (52.95) | 3,753 (42.52) | |
| Comorbidities | |||
| Number of Charlson Comorbidity groups (95% CI) | 1.48 (1.46–1.52) | 1.81 (1.79–1.83) | <0.0001 |
| Charlson Comorbidity Index value (95% CI) | 1.58 (1.54–1.62) | 1.94 (1.91–1.97) | <0.0001 |
| Comorbidities by ICD-10 code % (95% CI) | |||
| Asthma, J45 | 3.93 (2.76–5.04) | 22.01 (21.3–22.8) | <0.0001 |
| Rhinitis, J30/J31 | 0.54 (0.14–0.92) | 2.02 (1.76–2.28) | <0.0001 |
| Cardiovascular diseases, I00–I99 | 40.31 (39.4–42.4) | 46.6 (45.4–47.4) | <0.0001 |
| Ischemic heart diseases, I20–I25 | 10.78 (9.99–12.0) | 12.41 (11.6–13.0) | 0.009 |
| Hypertensive diseases, I10 | 24.13 (23.1–25.8) | 29.68 (28.6–30.5) | <0.0001 |
| Cerebrovascular diseases, I60–I69 | 4.88 (4.31–5.70) | 5.29 (4.78–5.70) | 0.3404 |
| Diabetes type I, E10 | 1.86 (1.38–2.33) | 2.56 (2.24–2.88) | 0.0165 |
| Diabetes type II, E11/E13 | 6.77 (5.94–7.75) | 10.13 (9.50–10.7) | <0.0001 |
| Hyperlipidemia, E78.5 | 2.40 (1.88–2.93) | 3.07 (2.72–3.42) | 0.0381 |
| Depression, F32/F33 | 4.81 (3.95–5.50) | 7.28 (6.81–7.84) | <0.0001 |
| Anxiety, F40/F41 | 3.90 (3.10–4.46) | 5.39 (5.00–5.89) | <0.0001 |
| Mild cognitive impairment, F06.7 | 0.34 (0.13–0.58) | 0.60 (0.44–0.74) | 0.0564 |
| Osteoporosis, M80/M81 | 1.91 (1.48–2.51) | 3.22 (2.84–3.53) | <0.0001 |
| Fractures, S2 | 6.82 (6.04–7.70) | 7.76 (7.19–8.29) | 0.0641 |
| Lung cancer, C34 | 0.93 (0.59–1.28) | 1.35 (1.12–1.57) | 0.0484 |
| Medication use by ATC code,% (95% CI) | |||
| Treatment of cardiac disease, C01 | 13.13 (12.3–14.27) | 18.55 (17.6–19.2) | <0.0001 |
| Antihypertensives, C02 | 0.83 (0.52–1.17) | 1.19 (0.97–1.40) | 0.0687 |
| Beta-blocking agents, C07 | 25.99 (24.9–27.8) | 33.70 (32.6–34.5) | <0.0001 |
| Calcium channel blockers, C08 | 15.87 (14.9–17.4) | 22.51 (21.6–23.2) | <0.0001 |
| Agents acting on the renin-angiotensin system, C09 | 24.86 (23.8–26.7) | 36.04 (34.9–36.8) | <0.0001 |
| Lipid modifying agents, C10 | 18.94 (17.8–20.4) | 26.46 (25.5–27.2) | <0.0001 |
| Diabetes medication, A10 | 7.62 (6.68–8.68) | 13.15 (12.5–13.8) | <0.0001 |
| Antidepressants, N06A | 16.77 (15.3–18.0) | 27.88 (27.0–28.8) | <0.0001 |
| Central pain killers, N02BE/N02A/M01AE | 28.32 (26.9–30.0) | 50.38 (49.3–51.3) | <0.0001 |
| Bisphosphonates, M05BA | 2.12 (1.55–2.86) | 5.66 (5.19–6.06) | <0.0001 |
| Proton pump inhibitors, A02 | 16.5 (15.1–17.9) | 34.6 (33.7–35.5) | <0.0001 |
| Oral steroids, H02AB | 5.45 (4.15–6.67) | 29.43 (28.6–30.3) | <0.0001 |
| Antibiotic for airways, J01AA/J01CA | 14.19 (12.6–15.5) | 46.55 (45.7–47.6) | <0.0001 |
| Health care utilization | |||
| Hospital visits per year for any reason, n | 0.41 (0.37–0.45) | 0.56 (0.54–0.59) | <0.0001 |
| Outpatientb visits per year, n | 1.36 (1.21–1.47) | 2.24 (2.16–2.33) | <0.0001 |
| Primary care contacts per year, n | 7.76 (7.22–8.41) | 13.3 (12.9–13.4) | <0.0001 |
| Patients with primary care contacts,% | 78.4 (77.1–79.7) | 77.9 (77.0–78.7) | 0.4739 |
| Patients with outpatient hospital visits,% | 57.2 (55.7–58.6) | 72.1 (71.1–73.1) | <0.0001 |
| Patients with overnight stays,% | 33.0 (31.7–34.7) | 39.7 (38.6–40.6) | <0.0001 |
Notes: aVariables quoted for 2 years prior to COPD diagnosis (index) date unless otherwise stated; all variables except age itself are calculated with age as a covariate. bOutpatient visit: a visit where the patient does not stay overnight at the hospital.
Abbreviations: ATC, anatomical therapeutic chemical; CI, confidence interval; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; ICD-10, international classification of disease code.