COPD in a Nationally Representative Sample: Sociodemographic Factors and Co-morbidity, Diagnosis Method, and Healthcare Utilization

Figures & data

Table 1.  Demographic Characteristics, Health and Health Utilization Factors of Respondents with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in the BRFSS 2011, n = 16,615

	Overall (n = 16,615)
	N (%)	(95% CI)
Breathing test to diagnose COPD (Yes)	13484 (77.7)	(76.1, 79.3)
Age, mean	56.6	(55.9, 57.3)
Age
< 40 years old	819 (15.0)	(13.0, 17.0)
40 to 54 years old	3155 (28.2)	(26.4, 29.9)
55 to 64 years old	4671 (23.7)	(22.4, 25.1)
65 to 74 years old	4583 (19.2)	(18.1, 20.3)
≥ 75 years old	3387 (13.9)	(13.0, 14.8)
Gender
Male	5722 (42.6)	(40.7, 44.5)
Female	10893 (57.4)	(55.5, 59.3)
Race/Ethnicity
White Non-Hispanic	13874 (76.7)	(74.8, 78.6)
Black Non-Hispanic	1098 (8.6)	(7.2, 10.0)
Hispanic	723 (8.2)	(7.0, 9.5)
Other/Multiracial, Non-Hispanic	920 (6.5)	(5.4, 7.7)
Education Level
High School Graduate or below	8465 (54.4)	(52.5, 56.2)
Some College, technical school or College graduate	8150 (45.6)	(43.8, 47.5)
Income Level
< $ 15,000	4246 (25.3)	(23.7, 26.8)
$ 15,000, $ 24,999	4581 (23.9)	(22.4, 25.3)
$ 25,000, $ 49,999	4554 (27.6)	(26.0, 29.2)
≥ $ 50,000	3234 (23.3)	(21.5, 25.0)
Marital Status
Married/Member of unmarried couple	6869 (47.0)	(45.1, 48.8)
Divorced/Separated/Widowed	8170 (37.8)	(36.2, 39.5)
Never Married	1576 (15.2)	(13.5, 16.9)
Exercise in past 30 days (Yes)	9388 (60.6)	(58.9, 62.4)
Smoking Status
Current Smoker	5701 (38.6)	(36.7, 40.4)
Former Smoker	7207 (37.0)	(35.3, 38.7)
Never Smoker	3707 (24.4)	(22.7, 26.2)
Ever told you had a depressive disorder? (Yes)	6179 (38.4)	(36.6, 40.2)
Ever told you had asthma? (Yes)	7195 (45.5)	(43.6, 47.3)
Ever told you had angina, CHD or MI? (Yes)	4409 (24.2)	(22.7, 25.7)
Have a personal doctor? (Yes)	15494 (89.8)	(88.4, 91.3)
Seen a doctor about shortness of breath? (Yes)	7343 (43.0)	(41.2, 44.8)
Been to E.R./hospital for COPD? (Yes)	2689 (16.8)	(15.4, 18.2)
Health Care Coverage (Yes)	15192 (87.1)	(85.6, 88.6)

COPD = chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; BRFSS = Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System; ER = emergency room; CHD = coronary heart disease; MI = myocardial infarction.

Table 2.   Health Factors and Demographic Characteristics of Respondents with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease by diagnostic breathing test in the BRFSS 2011, n = 16,615

	Breathing Test (n = 13,484)		No Breathing Test (n = 3,131)
	N (%)	(95% CI)	N (%)	(95% CI)	P
Age, mean	58.2	(57.4–58.9)	51.1	(49.4–52.7)	<.0001
Age					<.0001
< 40 years old	539 (12.1)	(9.9–14.2)	280 (25.1)	(20.5–29.7)
40 to 54 years old	2349 (26.8)	(24.8–28.8)	806 (32.9)	(29.3–36.6)
55 to 64 years old	3740 (25.1)	(23.5–26.7)	931 (19.0)	(16.7–21.4)
65 to 74 years old	3947 (21.0)	(19.7–22.3)	636 (13.0)	(10.7–15.4)
≥ 75 years old	2909 (15.0)	(14.0–16.1)	478 (9.9)	(8.2–11.6)
Gender					0.8529
Male	4719 (42.5)	(40.3–44.6)	1003 (42.9)	(38.7–47.1)
Female	8765 (57.5)	(55.4–59.7)	2128 (57.1)	(52.9–61.3)
Race/Ethnicity					<.0001
White Non-Hispanic	11272 (77.4)	(75.3–79.5)	2602 (74.0)	(69.8–78.2)
Black Non-Hispanic	920 (9.4)	(7.7–11.1)	178 (5.9)	(4.1–7.6)
Hispanic	548 (6.2)	(5.2–7.3)	175 (15.1)	(11.2–19.1)
Other/Multiracial, Non-Hispanic	744 (7.0)	(5.6–8.3)	176 (5.0)	(3.1–6.9)
Education Level					0.1874
High School Graduate or below	6873 (55.0)	(53.0–57.1)	1592 (52.0)	(47.9–56.1)
Some College, technical school or College graduate	6611 (45.0)	(42.9–47.0)	1539 (48.0)	(43.9–52.1)
Income Level					0.1795
< $ 15,000	3486 (25.3)	(23.5–27.1)	760 (25.1)	(21.6–28.5)
$ 15,000 - $ 24,999	3749 (23.8)	(22.2–25.3)	832 (24.1)	(20.7–27.6)
$ 25,000 - $ 49,999	3702 (28.4)	(26.6–30.3)	852 (24.7)	(21.6–27.9)
≥ $ 50,000	2547 (22.5)	(20.5–24.4)	687 (26.1)	(22.1–30.0)
Marital Status					0.0016
Married/Member of unmarried couple	5513 (46.9)	(44.8–48.9)	1356 (47.4)	(43.4–51.5)
Divorced/Separated/Widowed	6760 (39.3)	(37.4–41.2)	1410 (32.8)	(29.4–36.2)
Never Married	1211 (13.9)	(12.0–15.7)	365 (19.7)	(15.5–24.0)
Exercise in past 30 days (Yes)	7499 (58.9)	(57.0–60.9)	1889 (66.6)	(63.1–70.2)	0.0004
Smoking Status					<.0001
Current Smoker	4351 (38.1)	(36.0–40.2)	1350 (40.1)	(36.2–44.0)
Former Smoker	6274 (39.4)	(37.5–41.3)	933 (28.6)	(25.1–32.2)
Never Smoker	2859 (22.5)	(20.6–24.4)	848 (31.2)	(27.2–35.2)
Ever told you had a depressive disorder (Yes)	5076 (40.2)	(38.2–42.2)	1103 (32.1)	(28.4–35.7)	0.0002
Ever told you had asthma (Yes)	6408 (50.1)	(48.0–52.2)	787 (29.4)	(25.3–33.6)	<.0001
Ever told you had angina, CHD or MI? (Yes)	3905 (27.2)	(25.4–28.9)	504 (13.9)	(11.4–16.4)	<.0001
Have a personal doctor? (Yes)	12768 (92.5)	(91.0–94.0)	2726 (80.7)	(76.8–84.6)	<.0001
Seen a doctor about shortness of breath? (Yes)	6470 (47.3)	(45.3–49.4)	873 (27.9)	(24.3–31.5)	<.0001
Been to E.R./hospital for COPD? (Yes)	2439 (18.8)	(17.2–20.4)	250 (9.9)	(7.5–12.3)	<.0001
Health Care Coverage (Yes)	12494 (89.3)	(87.7–90.9)	2698 (79.7)	(76.0–83.4)	<.0001

COPD = Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; BRFSS = Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System; ER = Emergency room; CHD = coronary heart disease; MI = myocardial infarction.

Table 3.   Unadjusted and adjusted weighted prevalence odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for breathing test to diagnose COPD among persons with COPD in the 2011 BRFSS, n = 16,615

	UOR (95% CI)	p	AOR (95% CI)
Age*
< 40 years old	Reference	<.0001	Reference*
40 to 54 years old	1.69 (1.20, 2.38)		1.15 (0.81, 1.64)
55 to 64 years old	2.73 (1.96, 3.82)		1.86 (1.31, 2.63)
65 to 74 years old	3.34 (2.32, 4.81)		2.38 (1.60, 3.55)
≥ 75 years old	3.16 (2.21, 4.52)		2.44 (1.61, 3.69)
Gender
Male	Reference	0.853	–
Female	1.02 (0.84, 1.23)		–
Race/Ethnicity
White Non-Hispanic	Reference	<0.0001	Reference
Black Non-Hispanic	1.53 (1.05, 2.21)		2.37 (1.46, 3.84)
Hispanic	0.39 (0.27, 0.57)		0.40 (0.28, 0.58)
Other/Multiracial, Non-Hispanic	1.33 (0.85, 2.08)		1.48 (0.90, 2.42)
Education Level
Some College, technical school or College graduate	Reference	0.188	–
High School Graduate or below	1.13 (0.94, 1.36)		–
Income Level
≥ $ 50,000	Reference	0.186	–
$ 25,000–$ 49,999	1.33 (1.02, 1.74)		–
$ 15,000–$ 24,999	1.14 (0.87, 1.50)		–
< $ 15,000	1.17 (0.89, 1.54)		–
Marital Status
Never Married	Reference	<0.01	Reference
Married/Member of unmarried couple	1.41 (1.02, 1.94)		1.12 (0.79, 1.58)
Divorced/Separated/Widowed	1.71 (1.24, 2.35)		1.02 (0.72, 1.46)
Exercise in past 30 days (Yes)	0.72 (0.60, 0.86)	<0.001	0.81 (0.67, 0.98)
Smoking Status
Never Smoker	Reference	<0.0001	Reference
Current Smoker	1.32 (1.04, 1.67)		1.37 (1.06, 1.77)
Former Smoker	1.91 (1.49, 2.44)		1.44 (1.11, 1.87)
Ever told you had a depressive disorder? (Yes)	1.42 (1.18, 1.72)	<0.001	1.31 (1.06, 1.61)
Ever told you had asthma? (Yes)	2.40 (1.94, 2.99)	<0.0001	2.59 (2.09, 3.21)
Ever told you had angina, CHD or MI? (Yes)	2.31 (1.84, 2.89)	<0.0001	1.61 (1.26, 2.05)
Have a personal doctor? (Yes)	2.94 (2.11, 4.08)	<0.0001	1.80 (1.28, 2.53)
Seen a doctor about shortness of breath? (Yes)	2.32 (1.90, 2.83)	<0.0001	1.78 (1.45, 2.19)
Been to E.R./hospital for COPD? (Yes)	2.10 (1.58, 2.81)	<0.0001	1.29 (0.94, 1.78)
Health Care Coverage (Yes)	2.12 (1.59, 2.81)	<0.0001	1.26 (0.93, 1.71)

*Significant for trend, p < 0.001

COPD = chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; BRFSS = Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System; ER = emergency room; CHD = coronary heart disease; MI = myocardial infarction.