Table 1.
Population characteristics and health status of 257 COPD patients of rural/semi-urban areas of Greece
| Characteristics and health status | Total Group N = 257 |
Good-Intermediate adherence N = 59 (25.9%) |
Poor adherence N = 169 (74.1%) |
P-value* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age; mean (SD) | 65 (12.3) | 69.3 (13.4) | 64.7 (12.0) | 0.004 |
| BMI; mean (SD) | 29 (5.3) | 29.7 (6.1) | 29.3 (5.0) | 0.603 |
| Males; n (%) | 204 (79.4) | 45 (76.3) | 133 (78.7) | 0.837 |
| Occupational status; n (%) | ||||
| Employed | 74 (33.3) | 10 (20.8) | 52 (33.5) | 0.038 |
| Unemployed/housewife | 25 (11.3) | 3 (6.3) | 22 (14.2) | |
| Retired | 123 (55.4) | 35 (72.9) | 81 (52.3) | |
| Smoking status; n (%) | ||||
| Current | 143 (55.6) | 25 (42.4) | 98 (58) | 0.120 |
| Ex | 83 (32.3) | 25 (42.4) | 50 (29.6) | |
| Never | 31 (12.1) | 9 (15.3) | 21 (12.4) | |
| Pack-years; median (IQR) | 40 (10) | 40 (60) | 40 (10) | 0.003 |
| CAT score; mean (SD) | 17.2 (6.7) | 17.5 (7.3) | 17.2 (5.7) | 0.170 |
| CAT score ≥ 10; n (%) | 224 (91.1) | 45 (83.3) | 155 (95.1) | 0.015 |
| mMRC score; mean (SD) | 1.9 (1.2) | 1.7 (1.4) | 2 (1.06) | 0.759 |
| mMRC score ≥ 2; n (%) | 154 (60.6) | 28 (47.1) | 111 (66.5) | 0.013 |
| Number of exacerbations in the last 12 monthsa; median (IQR) | 1 (1) | 1 (1) | 1 (1) | 0.001 |
| Exacerbations in the last 12 months; n (%) | ||||
| 0 | 55 (16.2) | 16 (43.2) | 37 (13.2) | |
| 1 | 167 (49.3) | 16 (43.2) | 136 (48.6) | < 0.001 |
| ≥ 2 | 117 (34.5) | 5 (13.5) | 107 (38.2) | |
| Number of hospitalisations in the last 12 months; median (IQR) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0.913 |
| Hospitalised in the last 12 months; n (%) | 12 (5.2) | 7 (15.2) | 4 (2.1) | 0.003 |
| GOLD 2019 – CAT; n (%) | ||||
| A | 11 (5.4) | 4 (13.8) | 6 (3.8) | |
| B | 115 (56.4) | 18 (62.1) | 86 (54.4) | 0.082 |
| C | 3 (1.5) | 0 (0) | 2 (1.3) | |
| D | 75 (36.8) | 7 (24.1) | 64 (40.5) | |
| GOLD 2019 – mMRC; n (%) | ||||
| A | 57 (27.5) | 14 (46.7) | 38 (23.6) | |
| B | 71 (34.3) | 9 (30.0) | 56 (34.8) | 0.055 |
| C | 20 (9.7) | 1 (3.3) | 16 (9.9) | |
| D | 59 (28.5) | 6 (20.0) | 51 (31.7) | |
BMI Body mass index, IQR Interquartile range, GOLD 2019 Global Initiative for Obstructive Lung Disease 2019 Guidelines, CAT Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Assessment Test, mMRC Modified Medical Research Council Dyspnoea Scale
*Chi-square or Fisher’s exact test for categorical variables, Student’s T-test for continuous variables with normal distribution and Mann-Whitney U test for not normally distributed variables
aAn exacerbation was defined based on GOLD as “an event in the natural course of the disease characterized by a change in the patient’s baseline dyspnea, cough, and/or sputum that is beyond normal day-to-day variations, is acute in onset, and may warrant a change in regular medication to a patient with underlying COPD”, and patients were specifically asked whether they underwent such a change in the past 12 months