Subject characteristics
| Characteristic | Never smokers | Smokers w/o COPD | GOLD I COPD | GOLD II–III* COPD | GOLD IV COPD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subjects, n | 8 | 7 | 6 | 15 | 10 |
| Gender, men/women | 2/6 | 3/4 | 4/2 | 12/3 | 4/6 |
| Age, years | 66 (33–76)† | 56 (47–68) | 68 (56–75) | 67 (53–77) | 62 (53–66) |
| Smoking history, pack-years | 0 | 36 (20–80) | 39 (25–66) | 46 (16–65) | 43 (25–60) |
| Smoking status, ex smokers/current | – | 3/4 | 3/3 | 10/5 | 10/0 |
| FEV1 | 2.5 (1.7–5.1) | 3.0 (1.9–3.5) | 2.9 (1.6–3.2) | 1.9 (1.2–2.9) | 0.6 (0.4–1.0) |
| FEV1, % of predicted | 108.9 (82–141) | 95.0 (82–120) | 85.9 (80–95) | 68.5 (43–78) | 23.1 (15–27) |
| FEV1/(F)VC, % | 81.5 (66–121) | 76.0 (71–88) | 66.5 (65–70) | 58.0 (41–68) | 32.0 (20–39) |
| Inhaled β2 agonists | |||||
| Short acting (yes/no/unknown) | 0/8/0 | 0/7/0 | 1/5/0 | 2/13/0 | 4/5/1‡ |
| Long acting (yes/no/unknown) | 0/8/0 | 0/7/0 | 0/6/0 | 0/15/0 | 4/5/1‡ |
| Inhaled anticholinergics | |||||
| Short acting (yes/no/unknown) | 0/8/0 | 0/7/0 | 1/5/0 | 2/13/0 | 3/6/1‡ |
| Long acting (yes/no/unknown) | 0/8/0 | 0/7/0 | 0/6/0 | 0/15/0 | 5/4/1‡ |
| Inhaled short acting β2 agonist plus anticholinergics (yes/no/unknown) | 0/8/0 | 0/7/0 | 0/6/0 | 0/15/0 | 3/6/1‡ |
| Corticosteroids | |||||
| Inhaled (yes/no/unknown) | 0/8/0 | 0/7/0 | 0/6/0 | 1/14/0 | 2/7/1‡ |
| Oral (yes/no/unknown) | 0/8/0 | 0/7/0 | 0/6/0 | 0/15/0 | 2/7/1‡ |
| Inhaled long acting β2 agonist plus corticosteroids (yes/no/unknown) | 0/8/0 | 0/7/0 | 0/6/0 | 1/14/0 | 7/2/1‡ |
| Mucolytics (yes/no/unknown) | 0/8/0 | 0/7/0 | 2/4/0 | 0/15/0 | 5/4/1‡ |
Values are median (range) or n.
*Two patients with GOLD stage III COPD.
†The mean value of the study group is 63 years.
‡One patient with unknown medical history.
COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; FEV1, forced expiratory volume in 1 s; (F)VC, (forced) vital capacity; GOLD, Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease.