Patients with COPD, who continue to smoke, have the worst disease prognosis, according to a new study. Researchers from Illinois and Massachusetts collected the pyrometer data of 538 participants from the Framingham Heart Study. The participants were categorized according to Global Initiative for Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) stages at the beginning and end of 12 years, and smoking status, age, and gender were used to estimate disease progression. Participants were categorized as never smokers (16.1%), always smokers (42.5%), and intermittent smokers (37.6%). When stratified by smoking status, always smokers were shown more likely to have disease progression, having the lowest proportion of patients in the same GOLD stage at baseline and 12 years. ### CHEST 2006 abstract briefs Contact: Jennifer Stawarz

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