“…Fifteen studies on 1329 COPD patients (mean age 60 years, 79% male) and 814 non-COPD subjects (mean age 54 years, 71% male) were identified [ 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 ]. COPD was diagnosed according to the Global Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) guidelines in 12 studies [ 25 , 26 , 28 , 29 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 ], and the American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society (ATS/ERS) guidelines in three [ 27 , 30 , 39 ]. Thirteen studies assessed erythrocytes [ 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 37 , 39 ] whereas the remaining two assessed whole blood [ 36 , 38 ].…”