The German COPD cohort COSYCONET: Aims, methods and descriptive analysis of the study population at baseline

• Published in: Respiratory medicine Vol. 114; pp. 27 - 37
• Main Authors: Karch, Annika, Vogelmeier, Claus, Welte, Tobias, Bals, Robert, Kauczor, Hans-Ulrich, Biederer, Jürgen, Heinrich, Joachim, Schulz, Holger, Gläser, Sven, Holle, Rolf, Watz, Henrik, Korn, Stephanie, Adaskina, Nina, Biertz, Frank, Vogel, Charlotte, Vestbo, Jørgen, Wouters, Emiel F.M., Rabe, Klaus Friedrich, Söhler, Sandra, Koch, Armin, Jörres, Rudolf A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.05.2016; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Adult; Age; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Asthma; Cardiovascular disease; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Cohort; Cohort Studies; Colleges & universities; Comorbidity; COPD; Diabetes; Disease Progression; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Germany - epidemiology; Humans; Inflammation; Male; Medical imaging; Metabolic disorders; Middle Aged; Morphology; Mortality; NMR; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Observational Studies as Topic; Osteoporosis; Population; Prospective Studies; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive - diagnostic imaging; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive - epidemiology; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive - pathology; Pulmonary/Respiratory; Risk Factors; Severity of Illness Index; Smoking - epidemiology; Study design; Systemic inflammation; Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome - metabolism; Study design; Cohort; Comorbidity; Systemic inflammation; COPD; systemic inflammation; cohort; comorbidity; study design
• ISSN: 0954-6111; 1532-3064; 1532-3064
• DOI: 10.1016/j.rmed.2016.03.008

The German COPD cohort study COSYCONET (“COPD and SYstemic consequences-COmorbidities NETwork”) investigates the interaction of lung disease, comorbidities and systemic inflammation. Recruitment took place from 2010 to 2013 in 31 study centers. In addition to the baseline visit, follow-up visits are scheduled at 6, 18, 36 and 54 months after baseline. The study also comprises a biobank, image bank, and includes health economic data. Here we describe the study design of COSYCONET and present baseline data of our COPD cohort. Inclusion criteria were broad in order to cover a wide range of patterns of the disease. In each visit, patients undergo a large panel of assessments including e.g. clinical history, spirometry, body plethysmography, diffusing capacity, blood samples, 6-min walk-distance, electrocardiogram and echocardiography. Chest CTs are collected if available and CTs and MRIs are performed in a subcohort. Data are entered into eCRFs and subjected to several stages of quality control. Overall, 2741 subjects with a clinical diagnosis of COPD were included (59% male; mean age 65 ± 8.6 years (range 40–90)). Of these, 8/35/32/9% presented with GOLD stages I–IV; 16% were uncategorized, including the former GOLD-0 category. 24% were active smokers, 68% ex-smokers and 8% never-smokers. Data completeness was 96% for the baseline items. The German COPD cohort comprises patients with advanced and less advanced COPD. This is particularly useful for studying the time course of COPD in relation to comorbidities. Baseline data indicate that COSYCONET offers the opportunity to investigate our research questions in a large-scale, high-quality dataset. •The German COPD cohort COSYCONET has completed recruitment with 2741 patients.•The focus is on analyzing the association between COPD and comorbidities.•Patients of all severity stages incl. “GOLD 0” were enrolled, 59% male, mean age 65.•Baseline data quality is very good with >95% completeness.•Regular follow-up visits of up to 4.5 years are still ongoing.