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Respiratory epidemiology
Original research
Mortality in non-exacerbating COPD: a longitudinal analysis of UK primary care data
  1. Alexandra Lenoir1,2,
  2. Hannah Whittaker3,
  3. Alicia Gayle3,4,
  4. Debbie Jarvis3,
  5. Jennifer K Quint3
  1. 1 Department of Respiratory Medicine, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, Lausanne, Switzerland
  2. 2 Gesundheitsamt Fürstenfeldbruck, Fürstenfeldbruck, Germany
  3. 3 National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK
  4. 4 Epidemiology Department, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK
  1. Correspondence to Professor Jennifer K Quint, Imperial College London National Heart and Lung Institute, London, London, UK; j.quint{at}imperial.ac.uk

Abstract

Introduction Non-exacerbating patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are a less studied phenotype. We investigated clinical characteristics, mortality rates and causes of death among non-exacerbating compared with exacerbating patients with COPD.

Methods We used data from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink, Hospital Episode Statistics and Office for National Statistics between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2018. Ever smokers with a COPD diagnosis with minimum 3 years of baseline information were included. We compared overall using Cox regression and cause-specific mortality rates using competing risk analysis, adjusted for age, sex, deprivation, smoking status, body mass index, GOLD stage and comorbidities. Causes of death were identified using International Classification of Diseases-10 codes.

Results Among 67 516 patients, 17.3% did not exacerbate during the 3-year baseline period. Mean follow-up was 4 years. Non-exacerbators were more likely to be male (63.3% vs 52.4%, p<0.001) and less often had a history of asthma (33.9% vs 43.6%, p<0.001) or FEV1<50% predicted (23.7 vs 31.8%) compared with exacerbators. Adjusted HR for overall mortality in non-exacerbators compared with exacerbators was 0.62 (95% CI 0.56 to 0.70) in the first year of follow-up and 0.87 (95% CI 0.83 to 0.91) thereafter. Non-exacerbating patients with COPD died less of respiratory causes than exacerbators (29.2% vs 40.3%) and more of malignancies (29.4% vs 23.4%) and cardiovascular diseases (26.2% vs 22.9%). HRs for malignant and circulatory causes of death were increased after the first year of follow-up.

Discussion In this primary care cohort, non-exacerbators showed distinct clinical characteristics and lower mortality rates. Non-exacerbators were equally likely to die of respiratory, malignant or cardiovascular diseases.

  • COPD epidemiology
  • COPD exacerbations

Data availability statement

Data may be obtained from a third party and are not publicly available. Linked pseudonymised mortality data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), socioeconomic data from the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD), and secondary care data from Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) were provided for this study by CPRD for patients in England. Data is linked by NHS Digital, the statutory trusted third party for linking data, using identifiable data held only by NHS Digital. Select general practices consent to this process at a practice level, with individual patients having the right to opt-out. Use of HES and ONS data is Copyright © (2018), re-used with the permission of The Health & Social Care Information Centre, all rights reserved. Data are available on request from the CPRD. Their provision requires the purchase of a license, and this license does not permit the authors to make them publicly available to all. This work used data from the version collected in February 2019 and has clearly specified the data selected in the Methods section. To allow identical data to be obtained by others, via the purchase of a license, the code lists will be provided upon request. Licenses are available from the CPRD (http://www.cprd.com): The Clinical Practice Research Datalink Group, The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, 10 South Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London E14 4PU.

https://doi.org/10.1136/thorax-2022-218724

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    Data availability statement

    Data may be obtained from a third party and are not publicly available. Linked pseudonymised mortality data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), socioeconomic data from the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD), and secondary care data from Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) were provided for this study by CPRD for patients in England. Data is linked by NHS Digital, the statutory trusted third party for linking data, using identifiable data held only by NHS Digital. Select general practices consent to this process at a practice level, with individual patients having the right to opt-out. Use of HES and ONS data is Copyright © (2018), re-used with the permission of The Health & Social Care Information Centre, all rights reserved. Data are available on request from the CPRD. Their provision requires the purchase of a license, and this license does not permit the authors to make them publicly available to all. This work used data from the version collected in February 2019 and has clearly specified the data selected in the Methods section. To allow identical data to be obtained by others, via the purchase of a license, the code lists will be provided upon request. Licenses are available from the CPRD (http://www.cprd.com): The Clinical Practice Research Datalink Group, The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, 10 South Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London E14 4PU.

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors AL and JKQ designed the study. AL analysed the data and drafted the manuscript. AL, HW, AG, DJ and JKQ revised and approved the manuscript in its final form and take responsibility for its content. JKQ is guarantor.

    • Funding AL was supported by the Ligue Pulmonaire Vaudoise (LPV) and by the Fonds de perfectionnement du Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland.

    • Disclaimer This work is based in part on data from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) obtained under license from the United Kingdom (UK) Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). The data is provided by patients and collected by the National Health Service (NHS) as part of their care and support. The interpretation and conclusions contained in this study are those of the authors alone.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

    • Supplemental material This content has been supplied by the author(s). It has not been vetted by BMJ Publishing Group Limited (BMJ) and may not have been peer-reviewed. Any opinions or recommendations discussed are solely those of the author(s) and are not endorsed by BMJ. BMJ disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on the content. Where the content includes any translated material, BMJ does not warrant the accuracy and reliability of the translations (including but not limited to local regulations, clinical guidelines, terminology, drug names and drug dosages), and is not responsible for any error and/or omissions arising from translation and adaptation or otherwise.