Risk Factors of Rapid Lung Function Decline in COPD Patients of Real World
Abstract Background: Rapid lung function decliners have been considered a unique subgroup of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). A rapid decline manifests early and is related with a poor prognosis. Therefore, pre-emptive identification of risk factors for rapid decliner is necessary. We aimed to determine those risk factors in Korean patients.Methods: A longitudinal, observational study was conducted on the KOCOSS cohort (NCT02800499), consisting of patients assessed from January 2012 to December 2019 at 54 medical centers in South Korea. Eligible patients were adults followed up for 3 years with serial spirometric tests. We calculated the annualized percentage change in lung function from baseline. Rapid decliners were defined as the quartile of patients with the highest annualized percentage decline in lung function. Results: Among the 518 included patients, 130 were rapid decliners. Rapid decliners lost 6.2%/year and 100 ml/year of forced expiratory volume in 1 second from baseline. Rapid decliners had a higher rate of severe exacerbations than non-rapid decliners (0.2/year vs. 0.1/year, P=0.032). Upon multivariable logistic regression, male sex, being a current smoker, a blood eosinophil count <150/µl, and a high forced vital capacity were independent risk factors for a rapid decline. In rapid decliners, lung function deteriorated more rapidly in current smokers and patients with more severe dyspnea, while triple combination therapy attenuated lung function decline compared to mono-bronchodilator therapy.Conclusions: Identification of risk and aggravating factors for rapid lung function decline may assist physicians in providing earlier intervention for high-risk patients with COPD.