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. 2022 May 2;32(1):17.
doi: 10.1038/s41533-022-00278-8.

Age- and gender-based comorbidity categories in general practitioner and pulmonology patients with COPD

Su-Jong Kim-Dorner  1 , Torben Schmidt  2 , Alexander Kuhlmann  2   3 , Johann-Matthias Graf von der Schulenburg  2   3 , Tobias Welte  3   4 , Heidrun Lingner  5   6
Affiliations

Age- and gender-based comorbidity categories in general practitioner and pulmonology patients with COPD

Su-Jong Kim-Dorner et al. NPJ Prim Care Respir Med. .

Abstract

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a debilitating medical condition often accompanied by multiple chronic conditions. COPD is more frequent among older adults and affects both genders. The aim of the current cross-sectional survey was to characterize chronic comorbidities stratified by gender and age among patients with COPD under the care of general practitioners (GP) and pulmonologists, using real-world patient data. A total of 7966 COPD patients (women: 45%) with more than 5 years of the observation period in the practice were examined using 60 different Chronic comorbid conditions (CCC) and Elixhauser measures. More than 9 in 10 patients had at least one, and 51.7% had more than three comorbidities. No gender difference was found in the number of comorbidities. However, men had higher Elixhauser-van Walraven index scores than women, and the types of comorbidities differed by gender. An increasing number of comorbidities was seen with aging but the patients in their 30s and 40s also had a high number of comorbidities. Moreover, GP patients had a higher number and a wider array of documented comorbidities than pulmonology patients did. Psychological comorbidities were common in all patients, but particularly among younger patients. These findings around gender- and age-stratified comorbidities under the care of GPs and pulmonologists have implications for the choice of data provenience for decision-making analysis and treatment selection and success.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Chronic comorbid conditions (CCC), Elixhauser, and Elixhauser-van Walraven index scores by gender and age group.
Mean number of comorbidities with error bars representing 95% confidence intervals.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2. Chronic comorbid conditions (CCC), Elixhauser, and Elixhauser-vW index by gender, age group, and practice type.
Figures represent mean number of comorbidities for each age group separated by gender and practice type.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3. Percent distribution of patients with a number of chronic comorbid conditions (CCC).
Figures represent frequency of patients with a number of comorbidities, from 0 to 7 or more, for each age group separated by practice type.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4. Chronic comorbid conditions (CCC) with >20% frequency by gender and age group for GP and pulmonology practices.
Each segment of bars represents the frequency (%) of the listed comorbid condition for each age group. The conditions are presented in the reverse order of overall frequency by gender and practice.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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