Prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and pattern of comorbidities in a general population

Figures & data

Table 1 General description of the examined population

	Population (≥45 years)		Patients exposed to ≥1 respiratory drugs
Gender	N pts	%	N pts	%
Male	1,603,364	45	205,711	44
Female	1,932,007	55	257,183	56
Age
45–64	1,965,547	56	207,721	45
65–74	810,721	23	128,398	28
75–84	571,129	16	99,174	21
≥85	187,974	5	27,601	6
Total	3,535,371	100	462,894	100

Figure 1 Flowchart of COPD patients’ identification.

Figure 2 Prevalence estimated (%) of COPD in subgroups of patients differentiated in age and gender.

Table 2 Main characteristics of COPD patients

Characteristics	N pts (126,283)	%
Gender
male	65,869	52.2
female	60,414	47.8
Age, yrs
45–64	38,022	30.1
65–74	38,775	30.7
75–84	38,929	30.8
≥85	10,557	8.4
Therapy with index drug
mono-therapy	25,778	20.4
poly-therapy	100,505	79.6
Antibiotic agent – oral steroid prescription
yes	100,430	79.5
Non-index drug prescription
yes	123,603	97.9
Specific comorbid condition
yes	86,351	68.4

Table 3 Main therapeutic classes prescribed to COPD patients

Therapeutic class	Patients	% of COPD pts
Antibiotic agents	95,845	75.9
Cardiovascular drugs	92,367	73.1
Gastrointestinal and metabolic disorders	75,303	59.6
Musculoskeletal system	71,384	56.5
Blood and lymphatic system	55,922	44.3
Endocrine system	53,692	42.5
Nervous system	30,248	24.0

Figure 3 Percentage of COPD patients with comorbid conditions: diabetes, depression and cardiovascular diseases in subgroup of patients differentiated in sex and age.

Table 4 Detail of chronic comorbidities in COPD patients

Comorbidities	N pts	% of COPD pts
– Only one	65,831	52.1
Cardiovascular diseases (CV)	60,500	47.9
Diabetes	2,711	2.1
Depression	2,620	2.1
–Two	19,168	15.2
Diabetes + CV	12,848	10.2
CV + Depression	6,140	4.9
Diabetes + Depression	180	0.1
–Three	1,352	1.1
Diabetes + CV + Depression	1,352	1.1
Total	86,351	68.4

Figure 4 Percentage of COPD patients with all three pathologies (diabetes, depression, cardiovascular diseases) in subgroups of patients differentiated in age and gender.