Patient characteristics according to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients and controls without any lung disease
| Controls | COPD | p Value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number | 18 | 74 | |
| Demographics | |||
| Age, years, mean (SD) | 65.9 (5.8) | 66.0 (6.6) | 0.99 |
| Men, n (%) | 11 (61) | 52 (70) | 0.45 |
| Current smokers, n (%) | 0 (0) | 24 (32) | 0.005 |
| Pack-years of smoking, mean (SD) | 0.5 (1) | 55 (26) | <0.001 |
| Body mass index, kg/m2, mean (SD) | 25.7 (4.6) | 26.0 (5.3) | 0.82 |
| Lung function | |||
| FEV1%pred., mean (SD) | 116.2 (11.6) | 55.2 (25.6) | <0.001 |
| FEV1/FVC, mean (SD) | 78.6 (3.3) | 51.0 (15.0) | <0.001 |
| Physical activity | |||
| Physical activity level, mean (SD) | 1.65 (0.27) | 1.46 (0.27) | 0.008 |
| Cardiovascular function | |||
| Ankle–brachial index* | 1.18 (0.13) | 0.97 (0.19) | <0.001 |
| Ankle–brachial index* ≤0.90, n (%) | 0 (0) | 21 (29) | 0.009 |
| NT-pro-BNP, pg/mL, median (IQR) | 50.3 (36.7–81.0) | 78.7 (43.3–187.6) | 0.061 |
| NT-pro-BNP >125 pg/mL, n (%) | 3 (17) | 27 (37) | 0.11 |
| History of coronary artery disease, n (%) | 0 (0) | 14 (19) | 0.045 |
| Hypertension, n (%) | 12 (67) | 57 (77) | 0.36 |
| Metabolic function | |||
| Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, mg/dL | 134 (34) | 134 (36) | 0.97 |
| History of diabetes mellitus, n (%) | 0 (0) | 7 (10) | 0.18 |
| Metabolic syndrome, n (%) | 6 (33) | 35 (47) | 0.29 |
| Triglycerides ≥150 mg/dL or treatment, n (%) | 9 (50) | 28 (38) | 0.35 |
| HDL <40/50 mg/dL (M/F) or treatment, n (%) | 7 (39) | 19 (26) | 0.26 |
| FPG ≥100 mg/dL or treatment, n (%) | 4 (22) | 32 (43) | 0.10 |
| Waist circumference, >94/80 cm (M/F), n (%) | 11 (61) | 59 (80) | 0.10 |
| Inflammatory biomarker | |||
| hs-CRP, mg/L, median (IQR) | 1.1 (0.6–2.0) | 3.0 (1.5–6.1) | <0.001 |
Differences of packyears, FEV1 and FEV1/FVC were tested by rank test, as the homogeneity of variances was not given. NT-proBNP and hs-CRP were log-transformed to reveal a normal distribution.
*In this study population, all ABI values were below 1.40.
FEV1, forced expiratory volume in 1 s; FPG, fasting plasma glucose; FVC, forced vital capacity; HDL, high-density lipoprotein; hs-CRP, high-sensitive C reactive protein; M/F, male/female; NT-proBNP, N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide.