Table 1 Characteristics of the study groups
| Â | COPD L | COPD N | Controls | p-value | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
M/F | 7/2 | A | 8/2 | A | 8/2 | A | ns |
Age (Years) | 67 ± 2.0 | A | 69 ± 1.5 | A | 68 ± 1.4 | A | ns |
BMI (Kg.m−2) | 18.8 ± 0.7 | A | 26 ± 0.7 | B | 30 ± 2.1 | C | <0.0001 |
FFMI (Kg.m−2) | 15 ± 0.2 | A | 19 ± 0.5 | B | 20 ± 0.8 | B | <0.0001 |
Active/ex-smokers | 1/8 | A | 2/8 | A | 2/8 | A | ns |
Pack/year | 66 ± 14 | A | 49 ± 6.6 | AB | 32 ± 5.0 | B | 0.037 |
Average cessation (years) | 6.0 ± 2.5 | A | 8.4 ± 2.2 | A | 23 ± 5.5 | B | <0.01 |
Age at smoking cessation (years) | 61.1 ± 8.2 | A | 60.5 ± 7.6 | A | 45.1 ± 15.5 | B | <0.01 |
mMRC | 4 ± 0.4 | A | 3 ± 0.4 | B |  |  | 0.038 |
FEV1 (L) | 0.8 ± 0.1 | A | 1.2 ± 0.1 | A | 2.8 ± 0.2 | B | <0.0001 |
FEV1 (% pred) | 30 ± 3.6 | A | 44 ± 5.8 | A | 95 ± 3.9 | B | <0.0001 |
FVC (L) | 2.6 ± 0.3 | A | 2.7 ± 0.4 | A | 3.9 ± 0.2 | B | 0.015 |
FVC (% pred) | 76 ± 6.4 | A | 88 ± 9.0 | AB | 104 ± 3.2 | B | 0.01 |
FEV1/FVC | 0.32 ± 0.1 | A | 0.38 ± 0.1 | A | 0.71 ± 0.0 | B | <0.0001 |
PaO2 (mmHg) | 79 ± 7.4 | A | 70 ± 3.1 | A | 73 ± 1.8 | A | ns |
PaCO2 (mmHg) | 43 ± 2.0 | A | 41 ± 1.1 | A | 42 ± 0.6 | A | ns |
Physical activity (V) | 1.2 ± 0.3 | A | 7 ± 1.9 | B | 11 ± 1.5 | B | <0.0001 |
Physical activity (L) | 43 ± 3.6 | A | 30 ± 5.0 | A |  |  | ns |
QMVC (N) | 213 ± 19.4 | A | 323 ± 25.6 | B | 366 ± 26.8 | B | 0.002 |
6MWD (m) | 306 ± 55 | A | 411 ± 50.1 | AB | 524 ± 37.9 | B | 0.01 |
BODE | 6.5 ± 1.3 | A | 4 ± 0.9 | A |  |  | ns |
SGRQ Symptoms | 76 ± 4.8 | A | 60 ± 4.2 | B |  |  | 0.01 |
SGRQ Activity | 86 ± 4.7 | A | 52 ± 9.2 | B |  |  | 0.003 |
SGRQ Impact | 57 ± 6.6 | A | 33 ± 7.7 | B |  |  | 0.01 |
SGRQ Total | 69 ± 5.4 | A | 43 ± 6.8 | B |  |  | 0.005 |
Type I Fibre (%) | 25.1 ± 4.6 | A | 24.4 ± 3.3 | A | 38.7 ± 3.9 | B | 0.04 |
Type II area (μ2) | 2033 ± 166 | A | 2978 ± 277 | B | 2564 ± 277 | AB | 0.03 |