Dyspnoea severity and health related quality of life by sex, COPD physician diagnosis status, and exacerbation frequency for people with mild (GOLD 1) or moderate (GOLD 2) COPD
| Subjects n | MRC | MRC 1 | MRC 2 | MRC ≥3 | CAT total score | SGRQ total score | |
| Dyspnoea and HRQoL by sex | |||||||
| Mild COPD (GOLD 1) | 397 | ||||||
| Men | 259 | 1.3±0.5 | 190 (73.4) | 63 (24.3) | 6 (2.3) | 4.0 (2.0–7.0) | 6.8 (2.3–12.4) |
| Women | 138 | 1.6±0.6 | 68 (49.3) | 62 (44.9) | 8 (5.8) | 5.0 (3.0–9.0) | 8.0 (2.7–17.1) |
| p-value | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.073 | 0.049 | 0.039 | |
| Moderate COPD (GOLD 2) | 262 | ||||||
| Men | 145 | 1.6±0.7 | 69 (47.6) | 61 (42.1) | 15 (10.3) | 7.0 (4.0–12.5) | 14.6 (5.2–28.5) |
| Women | 117 | 1.9±0.8 | 40 (34.2) | 60 (51.3) | 17 (14.5) | 9.0 (5.0–15.0) | 21.0 (9.3–31.4) |
| p-value | 0.026 | 0.029 | 0.137 | 0.304 | 0.028 | 0.023 | |
| Dyspnoea and HRQoL by COPD diagnosis | |||||||
| Mild COPD (GOLD 1) | 397 | ||||||
| Diagnosed COPD | 66 | 1.6±0.6 | 28 (42.4) | 35 (53.0) | 3 (4.5) | 7.0 (5.0–12.0) | 13.9 (7.1–20.0) |
| Undiagnosed COPD | 331 | 1.3±0.6 | 230 (69.5) | 90 (27.2) | 11 (3.3) | 4.0 (2.0–7.0) | 6.2 (2.0–12.4) |
| p-value | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.712 | <0.001 | <0.001 | |
| Moderate COPD (GOLD 2) | 262 | ||||||
| Diagnosed COPD | 97 | 2.0±0.8 | 27 (27.8) | 51 (52.6) | 19 (19.6) | 12.0 (7.0–17.0) | 24.9 (14.9–34.9) |
| Undiagnosed COPD | 165 | 1.6±0.7 | 82 (49.7) | 70 (42.4) | 13 (7.9) | 6.0 (3.0–10.0) | 11.7 (4.5–25.2) |
| p-value | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.111 | 0.005 | <0.001 | <0.001 | |
| Dyspnoea and HRQoL by exacerbation frequency# | |||||||
| Mild COPD (GOLD 1) | 282 | ||||||
| 0 | 227 | 1.3±0.5 | 163 (71.8) | 59 (26.0) | 5 (2.2) | 4.0 (2.0–7.0) | 5.1 (1.6–12.3) |
| 1 | 39 | 1.6±0.8 | 23 (59.0) | 9 (23.1) | 7 (17.9) | 7.0 (3.0–11.0) | 12.6 (6.8–21.5) |
| ≥2 | 16 | 1.8±0.7 | 6 (37.5) | 8 (50.0) | 2 (12.5) | 8.5 (3.5–15.0) | 20.7 (8.4–35.6) |
| Overall p-value | 0.002 | 0.007 | 0.094 | <0.001 | <0.001 | <0.001 | |
| Moderate COPD (GOLD 2) | 185 | ||||||
| 0 | 128 | 1.5±0.6 | 75 (58.6) | 44 (34.4) | 9 (7.0) | 6.5 (3.0–11.0) | 11.5 (3.6–24.3) |
| 1 | 35 | 1.9±0.8 | 13 (37.1) | 15 (42.9) | 7 (20.0) | 11.0 (6.0–17.0) | 24.0 (15.3–35.4) |
| ≥2 | 22 | 1.8±0.7 | 8 (36.4) | 11 (50.0) | 3 (13.6) | 9.5 (5.0–18.0) | 32.5 (12.5–42.8) |
| Overall p-value | <0.011 | 0.024 | 0.300 | 0.066 | 0.002 | <0.001 | |
Data are presented as n, mean±sd, median (interquartile range) or n (%), unless otherwise stated. CAT: COPD Assessment Test; COPD: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; GOLD: Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease; HRQoL: health-related quality of life; MRC: Medical Research Council; SGRQ: St George's Respiratory Questionnaire. MRC was measured at baseline for comparisons by sex and physician diagnosis of COPD, and at Visit 3 for comparisons by exacerbation history. #: Number of exacerbations in the 12 months preceding Visit 3. p-values were obtained by performing Chi-squared or Fisher's exact test for category variables, and t-test (normal distribution) or Mann Whitney U test (not normal distribution) for continuous variables. Bold indicates statistical significance.