Distribution of patients between inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) and non-ICS groups by baseline characteristics
| Overall | Non-ICS group | ICS group | |
| Patients | 9475 | 4371 | 5104 |
| Age, years | 69.7±10.0 | 70.0±9.7 | 69.4±10.2 |
| Female | 4111 (43.4) | 1809 (41.4) | 2302 (45.1) |
| Current smoker# | 3946 (41.8) | 1836 (42.1) | 2110 (41.6) |
| Airflow limitation severity (most recent FEV1% predicted)¶ | |||
| Mild (≥80%) | 838 (11.9) | 401 (11.3) | 437 (12.5) |
| Moderate (50–80%) | 3878 (55.0) | 2110 (59.4) | 1768 (50.6) |
| Severe (30–50%) | 2010 (28.5) | 914 (25.7) | 1096 (31.4) |
| Very severe (<30%) | 322 (4.6) | 127 (3.6) | 195 (5.6) |
| Asthma >2 years previously | 1098 (11.6) | 269 (6.2) | 829 (16.2) |
| History of atopy+ | 2493 (26.3) | 1107 (25.3) | 1386 (27.2) |
| Exacerbations in previous year | |||
| 0 | 4887 (51.6) | 2433 (55.7) | 2454 (48.1) |
| 1 | 2829 (29.9) | 1250 (28.6) | 1579 (30.9) |
| 2 | 1165 (12.3) | 466 (10.7) | 699 (13.7) |
| ⩾3 | 594 (6.3) | 222 (5.1) | 372 (7.3) |
| Pneumonia episodes in previous year | |||
| 0 | 7484 (79.0) | 3514 (80.4) | 3970 (77.8) |
| 1 | 1500 (15.8) | 660 (15.1) | 840 (16.5) |
| ⩾2 | 491 (5.2) | 197 (4.5) | 294 (5.8) |
| Theophylline in previous 2 years | 97 (1.0) | 17 (0.4) | 80 (1.6) |
| Oxygen use ever | 46 (0.5) | 19 (0.4) | 27 (0.5) |
| Nebulisers in previous 2 years | 157 (1.7) | 48 (1.1) | 109 (2.1) |
| Nonelective hospitalisations§ in previous year | |||
| 0 | 7767 (82.0) | 3663 (83.8) | 4104 (80.4) |
| 1 | 1277 (13.5) | 529 (12.1) | 748 (14.7) |
| ⩾2 | 431 (4.6) | 179 (4.1) | 252 (4.9) |
| GP consultations in previous year | |||
| 0–3 | 2699 (28.5) | 1280 (29.3) | 1419 (27.8) |
| 4–7 | 3381 (35.7) | 1586 (36.3) | 1795 (35.2) |
| ⩾8 | 3395 (35.8) | 1505 (34.4) | 1890 (37.0) |
| Influenza vaccination in previous year | 6710 (70.8) | 3106 (71.1) | 3604 (70.6) |
| Blood eosinophil count (cells·µL−1) | |||
| Geometric mean | 200 | 200 | 201 |
| Median (IQR) | 200 (100–300) | 200 (100–300) | 200 (100–300) |
Data are presented as n, mean±sd or n (%), unless otherwise stated. Percentages are column percentages. FEV1: forced expiratory volume in 1 s; GP: general practitioner; IQR: interquartile range. #: n=9442 for smoking status (only past or current smokers included); ¶: n=7048 for airflow limitation severity; +: atopy defined using presence of codes for allergy, eczema or hay fever; §: for any cause.