Distribution and characteristics of COPD phenotypes – results from the Polish sub-cohort of the POPE study

Abstract

Background

This study aimed to examine the distribution of predefined phenotypes, demographic data, clinical outcomes, and treatment of patients who were included in the Polish cohort of the Phenotypes of COPD in Central and Eastern Europe (POPE) study.

Patients and methods

This was a sub-analysis of the data from the Polish cohort of the POPE study, an international, multicenter, observational cross-sectional survey of COPD patients in Central and Eastern European countries. The study included patients aged >40 years, with a confirmed diagnosis of COPD, and absence of exacerbation for at least 4 weeks before study inclusion. A total of seven Polish centers participated in the study.

Results

Among the 430 Polish COPD patients enrolled in the study, 61.6% were non-exacerbators (NON-AE), 25.3% were frequent exacerbators with chronic bronchitis (AE CB), 7.9% were frequent exacerbators without chronic bronchitis (AE NON-CB), and 5.1% met the definition of asthma-COPD overlap syndrome (ACOS). There were statistically significant differences among these phenotypes in terms of symptom load, lung function, comorbidities, and treatment. Patients with the AE CB phenotype were most symptomatic with worse lung function, and more frequently reported anxiety and depression. Patients with the ACOS phenotype were significantly younger and were diagnosed with COPD earlier than those with other COPD phenotypes; those with the ACOS phenotype were also more often atopic and obese.

Conclusion

There is significant heterogeneity among COPD patients in the Polish population in terms of phenotype and clinical outcome. The non-exacerbator phenotype is observed most frequently in Poland, while the frequent exacerbator with chronic bronchitis phenotype is the most symptomatic.

Keywords:

• chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
• asthma-COPD overlap syndrome
• phenotypes

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the staff of all the study centers for their cooperation in collecting the study data. The electronic case report form design and statistical analysis for sample size calculation was performed by Jiri Jarkovsky and Michal Uher (Institute of Biostatistics and Analyses, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic). The authors are grateful to the POPE study Steering Committee members – Assoc Prof Arschang Valipour (MD, PhD), Prof Neven Tudoric (MD, PhD), Vladimir Koblizek, (MD, PhD), Prof Attila Somfay (MD, PhD), Prof Kirill Zykov (MD, PhD), Prof Ruzena Tkacova (MD, PhD), and Prof Marc Miravitlles (MD, PhD) – for their contribution in the preparation of the study protocol and for the provision and processing of the data involving the Polish sub-cohort of patients. The authors would like to thank Boehringer Ingelheim for the support throughout the study.

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.