Revista de calidad asistencial : organo de la Sociedad Española de Calidad Asistencial
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To evaluate the differences in COPD patients below the lower limit of normal (LLN) of the fixed ratio FEV1/FVC < 0.70 and those above this limit. ⋯ We obtain two groups of patients with differentiated clinical characteristics if we use LLN. Subjects with FEV1/FVC<0.7 and >LLN have less obstruction, less severity and more comorbidity, suggesting the possibility of overdiagnosis or misdiagnosis. On the other hand, younger age at the time of diagnosis, higher tobacco consumption and more severe obstruction are related with FEV1/FVC >0.70 and