Characteristics of Current Smokers versus Former Smokers with COPD and Their Associations with Smoking Cessation Within 4.5 Years: Results from COSYCONET.

These findings, which were consistent in the cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses, suggest that lung hyperinflation was associated with being or becoming ex-smoker. Possibly, it is perceived by patients as one of the factors motivating their attempts to quit smoking, independent from airway obstruction.