Patient Characteristics and Sequencing Results.

*All COPD patients were non-smokers for at least 6 months prior to study entry.#Fewer sequences were obtained from COPD samples than from Control samples (p = 0.0326); this association was driven by the lower number of sequences in the Severe COPD (compared to Moderate COPD) group. This was not associated with a difference in the number of OTUs obtained.†COPD samples were significantly more diverse than Control Samples (p = 0.0082 Shannon, p = 0.0167 Simpson). This severity effect disappears when we control for age.§Moderate COPD patients are older than Severe COPD patients (p = 0.0241).