Table 1 Age, sex, smoking and pulmonary function data in patients with COPD and controls (study population 1)
VariablesCOPDSmokersNon-smokers
(n = 184)(n = 212)(n = 159)
Age (years)71.9 (8.0)†69.2 (8.0)74.7 (3.7)
Sex (M/F)152/32182/30129/30
Smoking (pack-years)36.6 (11.5)‡33.2 (12.8)0
FEV1 (% pred)47.2 (16.3)§103.2 (13.7)96.6 (15.4)
FEV1/FVC45.8 (8.6)¶79.2 (5.9)77.5 (7.2)
Serum VEGF (pg/ml)282.7 (13.3)**318.4 (19.6)296.8 (26.1)
Serum PlGF (pg/ml)27.1 (7.4)*12.3 (5.1)10.8 (6.3)

  • All values are shown as mean (SE).

  • COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; FEV1, forced expiratory volume in 1 s; FVC, forced vital capacity; VEGF, vascular endothelial growth factor; PlGF, placenta growth factor.

  • *p = 0.005; †p = 0.33; ‡p = 0.12; §p<0.001; ¶p <0.001; **p = 0.35 (F test between the three groups).