Management Reality of Female Patients with COPD: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional CAP Study in Japan

Background: Reports from Europe and North America suggest that female chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients have a higher symptom burden and mortality than male patients. However, little is known about the management reality of female patients with COPD in Japan. Patients and Methods: We compared the clinical characteristics of female COPD patients with those of male using the cohort of the COPD Assessment in Practice study, which is a cross-sectional multicenter observational study. Results: Of the 1168 patients, 133 (11.4%) were female. A history of never smoking was higher in females than males (p< 0.01). Although there was no difference in age or forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV 1 ) % predicted between the groups, modified medical research council dyspnea scale (mMRC) and number of frequent exacerbators were higher in females (mMRC≥ 2: p< 0.01; number of exacerbations≥ 2: p=0.011). The mean forced vital capacity and FEV 1 values in females were lower than those in males (p< 0.0001 and p< 0.0001, respectively). Females were more likely to use long-term oxygen therapy and inhaled corticosteroids than males (p=0.016 and p< 0.01, respectively). The prevalence of the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) groups B, C, D (ABCD GOLD 2017 classification), and E (ABE GOLD 2023 classification) was higher in females than in males. Conclusion: The disease burden of female patients with COPD is higher than that of male patients in Japan, suggesting the importance of interventions considering female-dominant features such as lower absolute FVC and FEV 1 , respiratory failure, and asthma-like conditions.