Table 3.

Number of patients with each index symptom in the year before diagnosis with lung cancera

Index symptomNumber of patients diagnosed in 2000, N= 971 (%)Number of patients diagnosed in 2017, N= 900 (%)OR per year (95% CI)P-value
Increasing over timeCombination (more than one symptom including cough)5 (1)22 (2)1.08 (1.06 to 1.10)<0.0001
Dyspnoea128 (13)197 (22)1.05 (1.05 to 1.06)<0.0001
Cough211 (22)207 (23)1.01 (1.00 to 1.02)<0.0001
Decreasing over timeFatigue38 (4)22 (2)0.99 (0.97 to 1.00)0.0270
Combination (more than one symptom excluding cough)6 (1)7 (1)0.98 (0.96 to 1.01)0.3040
Weight loss31 (3)17 (2)0.98 (0.96 to 0.99)0.004
Chest pain108 (11)57 (6)0.96 (0.95 to 0.97)<0.0001
Appetite loss9 (1)2 (0)0.94 (0.90 to 0.97)<0.0001
Haemoptysis57 (6)16 (2)0.93 (0.92 to 0.95)<0.0001
Total593 (61)547 (61)
  • a For brevity, data for the intervening annual cohorts 2001–2016 are not shown. The odds ratio reports the change in proportion of patients with each index symptom per year, from 2000–2017. OR = odds ratio.