Key characteristics* of cases and controls; values are numbers (percentages) unless stated otherwise
| Characteristic | Cases (n=5399) | Controls (n=51 563) |
| Median age at cohort entry (years, IQR) | 74.3 (65.8–80.8) | 73.8 (65.6–80.2) |
| Median follow-up from cohort entry to index date (years, IQR) | 1.6 (0.6–3.1) | 1.6 (0.6–3.1) |
| Sex | ||
| Female | 2388 (44.2) | 22 709 (44.0) |
| Male | 3011 (55.8) | 28 854 (56.0) |
| Charlson comorbidity score at cohort entry† | ||
| 0 | 2224 (41.2) | 29 214 (56.7) |
| 1 | 1133 (21.0) | 11 090 (21.5) |
| 2 | 823 (15.2) | 5614 (10.9) |
| >3 | 1219 (22.6) | 5645 (11.0) |
| COPD severity at cohort entry | ||
| Mild/moderate | 3401 (63.0) | 33 460 (64.9) |
| Severe | 1164 (21.6) | 10 990 (21.3) |
| Very severe | 834 (15.5) | 7113 (13.8) |
| Hospital discharge diagnoses at any time before cohort entry | ||
| Acute coronary syndrome | 1883 (34.9) | 7539 (14.6) |
| Other ischaemic heart disease | 2081 (38.5) | 9297 (18.0) |
| Raised blood pressure | 2523 (46.7) | 15 076 (29.2) |
| Dyslipidaemia | 1305 (24.2) | 6091 (11.8) |
| Heart failure | 1267 (23.5) | 6402 (12.4) |
| Life-threatening arrhythmia | 630 (11.7) | 3302 (6.4) |
| Ischaemic stroke | 223 (4.1) | 1430 (2.8) |
| Transient ischaemic attack | 265 (4.9) | 1526 (3.0) |
| Diabetes | 956 (17.7) | 5174 (10.0) |
| Benign prostatic hypertrophy/bladder outflow obstruction | 374 (6.9) | 3031 (5.9) |
| Medication use in 6 months before cohort entry | ||
| Statin | 2552 (47.3) | 17 438 (33.8) |
| Antiplatelet | 2669 (49.4) | 18 077 (35.1) |
| Blood pressure lowering | 3970 (73.5) | 31 189 (60.5) |
| Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory | 813 (15.1) | 7757 (15.0) |
| Oral theophylline | 54 (1.0) | 445 (0.9) |
*Full characteristics in online supplemental table 3.
†Based on hospital discharge diagnoses in the 5 years before cohort entry.
COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; IQR, Interquartile range.