Gender-dependent predictors for survival in patients with COPD

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide and it is predicted to be third leading cause in 2030. In general, gender differences have not been adequately investigated in COPD, as most studies included small sample sizes of women. Since prevalence is increasing in women there is a rising need to study gender-related predictors of survival. Methods: Between 2011 and 2017 we analyzed retrospectively a total of 550 patients. We studied age, gender, body mass index (BMI), FEV1, 6-min walk distance (6MWD), heart rate before and after 6-min walk test (6MWT) (as determined by ΔHR), SpO₂ before and after 6MWT (as determined by ΔSpO₂). Survival was calculated by Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox regression. Results: We included 264 women 286 men (48 and 52%). The study population was 58.6 ±10 years old, FEV1 was 30.4±17.8% predicted and BMI 23.9±5.4 kg/m2 while male study population was aged 62.9 ±10.6 years, FEV1 was 34±19% predicted and BMI 25.5±5.5 kg/m2 Five-year survival rate was 57.2% for women and 55.3% for men. 6MWD turned out to be a highly significant predictor for survival in univariate and multivariate analysis for men and women (p Conclusions: This study strengthens the evidence for 6MWD as predictor of mortality in male and female patients with COPD. FEV1, BMI and ΔSpO₂ were good predictors only in men.