Survey on influencing factors related to exacerbation of COPD patients in Chinese urban communities

Objective To explore influencing factors related to acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients in Chinese urban communities. Methods A cross-sectional survey was carried out in Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Guangzhou. Total 678 subjects with COPD were recruited continuously into this study. Subjects were face-to-face interviewed with a structured questionnaire and their medical records were also checked. All data were entered into Epi data twice, and analyzed by SAS 9.2. Results In recent one year, the frequency of exacerbation for COPD was (1.5±1.9), and more than one third (35.4%) did not suffer from any acute exacerbation of COPD (AECOPD), while the same proportion (35.4%) had more than two exacerbations. AECOPD patients was older, had longer courses, and higher proportions of BMI abnormity, family history of COPD, former smokers, no regular physical activities, and advanced severity of COPD than patients without any acute exacerbation. Former smoker(OR=2.53, 95% CI:1.32-4.87), no regular physical activities(OR=1.96, 95% CI:1.21-3.17) and advanced severity (stage Ⅲ (OR=2.81, 95% CI:1.38-5.71) and stage IV(OR=3.29, 95% CI:1.20-9.01)) of COPD were possible risk factors of frequently AECOPD in last year. Conclusions Acute exacerbation of COPD was prevalent for COPD patients from urban communities in big Chinese cities. More attentions should be paid to COPD patients with former smoker, no regular physical exercise and advanced severity.