Question 1. Investigators in the Netherlands conducted a study to investigate the prevalence, incidence, and mortality of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in the general population (Afonso A, Verhamme K, Sturkenboomand M, Brusselle G. COPD in the general population: Prevalence, incidence and survival. Respiratory Medicine, 2011). The study was conducted within the Integrated Primary Care Information database, a longitudinal observational database that started in 1992 and contains patient data from computer-based medical records while patients are receiving care from participating physicians throughout the Netherlands. The source population comprised 185,325 men and women aged 40 or older while they were enrolled in the database. The study started on January 1, 2000, and all patients were followed for (1) development of COPD from study entry until COPD diagnosis, removal from the database, or July 1, 2007; and (2) occurrence of COPD-related death from study entry until death, removal from the database, or July 1, 2007.

These data are abstracted from the paper: Population at No. No. incident Person-years baseline on prevalent cases during of follow-up January 1, cases at follow-up at risk for 2000 baseline on COPD January 1, 2000 All Participants 185325 5595 1713 596,460 Males 89697 3158 995 284,286 Females 95628 2437 718 312,174