Is COPD a Progressive Disease? A Long Term Bode Cohort Observation.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The Global Initiative for Obstructive Lung Diseases (GOLD) defines COPD as a disease that is usually progressive. GOLD also provides a spirometric classification of airflow limitation. However, little is known about the long-term changes of patients in different GOLD grades.

Objective

Explore the proportion and characteristics of COPD patients that change their spirometric GOLD grade over long-term follow-up.

Methods

Patients alive for at least 8 years since recruitment and those who died with at least 4 years of repeated spirometric measurements were selected from the BODE cohort database. We purposely included the group of non survivors to avoid a "survival selection" bias. The proportion of patients that had a change (improvement or worsening) in their s

SUBMITTER: de-Torres JP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4839642 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature