Treatable traits qualifying for nonpharmacological interventions in COPD patients upon first referral to a pulmonologist: the COPD sTRAITosphere

Introduction: The present study assessed the prevalence of nine treatable traits (TTs) pinpointing nonpharmacological interventions in patients with COPD upon first referral to a pulmonologist, how these TTs co-occurred and whether and to what extent the TTs increased the odds having a severely impaired health status.

Methods: Data were collected from a sample of 402 COPD patients. A second sample of 381 patients with COPD was used for validation. Nine TTs were assessed: current smoking status, activity-related dyspnoea, frequent exacerbations

Results: On average 3.9 +/- 2.0 TTs per patient were observed. These TTs occurred relatively independently of each other and coexisted in 151 unique combinations. A significant positive correlation was found between the number of TTs and Clinical COPD Questionnaire total score (r=0.58; p

Conclusions: Upon first referral to a pulmonologist, COPD patients show multiple TTs indicating them to several nonpharmacological interventions. These TTs coexist in many different combinations, are relatively independent and increase the likelihood of having a severely impaired health status.