Long-term effects of beta-blocker use on lung function in Japanese patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Figures & data

Table 1 Demographic data on 103 COPD patients who did or did not take beta-blockers

	Total	Beta-blocker use	No beta-blocker use	P-value
	n=103	n=31	n=72
Age (mean [SD]), year	67.0 (8.2)	68.2 (9.8)	67.0 (7.5)	0.501
Sex (male/female)	97 (94%)/6 (6%)	30 (97%)/1 (3%)	67 (93%)/5 (7%)	0.460
Smoking status (current/former)	32 (31%)/71 (69%)	6 (19%)/25 (81%)	26 (36%)/46 (64%)	0.092
Pack-years (mean [SD])	57.1 (32.3)	60.0 (32.3)	55.8 (32.4)	0.420
Body mass index (mean [SD]), kg/m^2	23.1 (3.6)	23.1 (3.8)	23.1 (3.6)	0.970
Home oxygen therapy	5 (5%)	3 (10%)	2 (3%)	0.135
GOLD stage (1/2/3/4)	26 (25%)/52 (51%)/19 (18%)/6 (6%)	4 (13%)/18 (58%)/5 (16%)/4 (13%)	22 (31%)/34 (47%)/14 (19%)/2 (3%)	0.049
FVC (mean [SD]), L	3.25 (0.86)	2.93 (0.81)	3.39 (0.86)	0.014
%FVC (mean [SD]), %	91.6 (20.9)	82.7 (18.8)	95.4 (20.7)	0.004
FEV1 (mean [SD]), L	1.83 (0.65)	1.64 (0.59)	1.91 (0.66)	0.041
%FEV1 (mean [SD]), %	65.2 (21.7)	58.9 (19.0)	67.9 (22.4)	0.054
FEV1/FVC ratio (mean [SD]), %	55.5 (11.2)	55.5 (11.5)	54.5 (11.1)	0.989
Asthma–COPD overlap syndrome	25 (24%)	6 (19%)	19 (26%)	0.445

Abbreviations: COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; SD, standard deviation; GOLD, Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease; FEV1, forced expiratory volume in 1 second; FVC, forced vital capacity.

Table 2 Cardiac comorbidities, acute exacerbation, and medications used to treat COPD during follow-up

	Total	Beta-blocker use	No beta-blocker use	P-value
	n=103	n=31	n=72
Observational period (mean [SD]), years	4.1 (2.5)	3.5 (2.0)	4.4 (2.7)	0.148
Cardiac comorbidities
Coronary artery disease	18 (18%)	12 (39%)	6 (8%)	<0.001
Chronic heart failure	17 (17%)	14 (45%)	3 (4%)	<0.001
Atrial fibrillation	17 (17%)	12 (39%)	5 (7%)	<0.001
Hypertension	51 (50%)	23 (74%)	28 (39%)	0.001
Acute exacerbation	14 (14%)	5 (16%)	9 (13%)	0.622
Medications for COPD
Long-acting muscarinic antagonist	65 (63%)	22 (71%)	43 (60%)	0.278
Long-acting beta adrenoceptor agonist	59 (57%)	17 (55%)	42 (58%)	0.742
Inhaled corticosteroid	37 (36%)	13 (42%)	24 (33%)	0.404
Any inhalation therapy*	85 (83%)	26 (84%)	59 (82%)	0.813

Note:

* Any inhalation therapy: a long-acting muscarinic antagonist, a long-acting beta adrenoceptor agonist, or an inhaled corticosteroid.

Abbreviations: COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; SD, standard deviation.

Table 3 Annual changes in lung function in COPD patients with or without treatment with beta-blockers

	Total	Beta-blocker use	No beta-blocker use	P-value
	n=103	n=31	n=72
Observational period (mean [SD]), years	4.1 (2.5)	3.5 (2.0)	4.4 (2.7)	0.148
Annual change in the FEV1 (mean [SD]), mL/year	−5.5 (111.4)	−7.6 (93.5)	−4.7 (118.9)	0.671
Annual change in the %FEV1 (mean [SD]), %/year	0.50 (4.09)	0.50 (3.55)	0.50 (4.32)	0.757

Abbreviations: COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; SD, standard deviation; FEV1, forced expiratory volume in 1 second.

Table 4 Multivariate analyses of the annual decline in FEV1

	B (95% CI)	P-value
Beta-blocker use (yes vs no)	−0.019 (−0.073 to 0.036)	0.503
Age	0.001 (−0.002 to 0.004)	0.436
Sex (male vs female)	−0.032 (−0.129 to 0.064)	0.506
Smoking status (current vs former)	−0.012 (−0.063 to 0.040)	0.658
Body mass index (≥21 vs <21 kg/m^2)	−0.001 (−0.047 to 0.049)	0.979
Initial %FEV1	−0.002 (−0.003 to −0.001)	0.002
Asthma–COPD overlap syndrome (yes vs no)	0.044 (−0.008 to 0.096)	0.098
Cardiovascular disease* (yes vs no)	−0.001 (−0.059 to 0.058)	0.985
Acute exacerbation during follow-up (yes vs no)	−0.026 (−0.095 to 0.042)	0.452

Notes: Response variable: annual change in FEV1 (L/year).

* Coronary artery disease or chronic heart failure.

Abbreviations: COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; FEV1, forced expiratory volume in 1 second; CI, confidence interval.

Figure 1 Annual changes in FEV1 levels in COPD patients with or without treatment with beta-blockers.

Abbreviations: COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; FEV1, forced expiratory volume in 1 second.

Table 5 Annual changes in FEV1 levels in patients taking beta-blockers, with or without inhalation therapy

Inhalation therapy*	n	Annual change in FEV1 (mean [SD]); mL/year
No	5	−33.8 (54.2)
Yes	26	−2.6 (99.2)

Note:

* Inhalation therapy: a long-acting muscarinic antagonist, a long-acting beta adrenoceptor agonist, or an inhaled corticosteroid.

Abbreviations: FEV1, forced expiratory volume in 1 second; SD, standard deviation.