Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of the total cohort at inclusion
| Characteristics | Total | Ever hosp. | Never hosp. | P value |
| Sex, female, n (%) | 175 (46) | 83 (44) | 92 (48) | 0.434 |
| Age, years, mean (SD) | 65.1 (7.6) | 67.0 (6.9) | 63.5 (7.9) | <0.001 |
| Laboratory data, mean (SD) | ||||
| Haemoglobin, g/dL | 14.2 (1.3) | 14.1 (1.4) | 14.2 (1.3) | 0.423 |
| Leucocyte count, 109/L | 7.0 (2.2) | 7.2 (2.4) | 6.9 (2.0) | 0.137 |
| C reactive protein*, mg/L | 2.6 (2.9) | 3.0 (2.9) | 2.2 (2.9) | 0.006 |
| Creatinine, mmol/L | 75.5 (22.4) | 76.6 (27.5) | 74.5 (17.0) | 0.352 |
| hs-cTnT*, ng/L | 6.9 (2.6) | 8.8 (2.6) | 5.6 (2.5) | <0.001 |
| Clinical Variables, mean (SD) | ||||
| FVC, L | 2.9 (1.3) | 2.7 (1.4) | 3.1 (1.1) | 0.010 |
| FEV1, L | 1.6 (0.9) | 1.4 (0.7) | 1.8 (1.1) | <0.001 |
| FVC of predicted, % | 85.1 (28.1) | 81.2 (34.1) | 88.5 (21.4) | 0.012 |
| FEV1 of predicted, % | 56.5 (27.4) | 50.1 (24.0) | 61.8 (29.0) | <0.001 |
| Arterial O2-tension, kPa | 9.3 (1.7) | 9.2 (1.6) | 9.4 (1.8) | 0.335 |
| Arterial CO2-tension, kPa | 5.3 (0.8) | 5.3 (0.8) | 5.4 (0.8) | 0.316 |
| Systolic BP, mm Hg | 134.1 (21.3) | 134.6 (20.9) | 133.6 (21.6) | 0.670 |
| Heart rate (ECG), 1/min | 71.8 (12.9) | 73.0 (13.6) | 70.7 (12.1) | 0.113 |
| Q-wave ECG, n (%) | 26 (8) | 17 (11) | 9 (6) | 0.109 |
| Clinical History, n (%) | ||||
| Coronary arterial disease | 23 (6) | 16 (9) | 7 (3) | 0.018 |
| Arterial hypertension | 155 (40) | 78 (45) | 77 (37) | 0.134 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 24 (6) | 13 (7) | 11 (5) | 0.389 |
| Smoking habits | ||||
| Current smoking, n (%) | 103 (27) | 43 (25) | 60 (29) | 0.365 |
| Former smoking, n (%) | 244 (64) | 125 (72) | 119 (53) | 0.003 |
| Pack-years, mean (SD) | 33.1 (21.0) | 37.9 (20.3) | 29.1 (20.8) | <0.001 |
| Group | <0.001 | |||
| References | 63 (16) | 12 (7) | 51 (25) | |
| LTOT candidates | 21 (5) | 16 (9) | 5 (2) | |
| Rehabilitation group | ||||
| Outpatients | 63 (16) | 47 (28) | 16 (8) | |
| Institutional | 63 (16) | 13 (7) | 50 (24) | |
| Unselected outpatients | 173 (45) | 87 (50) | 86 (41) |
BP, Blood Pressure; CRP, C-Reactive Protein; FEV1, forced expiratory volume in 1 s; FEV1, Forced Expiratory Volume in one second; FVC, Forced Volume Capacity; Hosp, hospitalised; hs-cTnT, high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T; LTOT, long-term oxygen therapy.