About the Authors

Wan C. Tan

wan.tan@hli.ubc.ca

Affiliation UBC James Hogg Research Laboratories, Providence Heart+Lung Institute, St. Paul’s Hospital, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Jean Bourbeau

Affiliation Respiratory Epidemiology and Clinical Research Unit, Montreal Chest Institute, McGill University, Montréal, Quebec, Canada

Paul Hernandez

Affiliation Respiratory Division, Department of Medicine, QEII Health Sciences Centre, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Kenneth R. Chapman

Affiliation Asthma & Airway Centre, University Health Network and University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Robert Cowie

Affiliation Departments of Medicine and Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

J. Mark FitzGerald

Affiliation University of British Columbia, Institute for Heart and Lung Health, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Shawn Aaron

Affiliation Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Darcy D. Marciniuk

Affiliation Division of Respirology, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, and Airway research Group, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

Francois Maltais

Affiliation Centre de Pneumologie, Institute Universitaire de Cardiologie et de Paneumologie de Quebec, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada

A. Sonia Buist

Affiliation Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon, United States of America

Denis E. O’Donnell

Affiliation Division of Respiratory & Critical Care Medicine, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada

Don D. Sin

Affiliation UBC James Hogg Research Laboratories, Providence Heart+Lung Institute, St. Paul’s Hospital, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Competing Interests

The authors have read the journal’s policy and have the following conflicts: Wan C. Tan has received funding for the Canadian Obstructive Lung Disease epidemiological study Operations from unrestricted educational grants from GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, Boehringer Ingelheim, AstraZeneca. Dr. Kenneth Chapman holds the GSK-CIHR Research Chair in Respiratory Health Care Delivery at the University Health Network, Toronto, Canada. In the past five years, Dr. Marciniuk received funding support to attend a symposium from AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, GlaxoSmithKline, Nycomed, and Pfizer; for speaking from AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, GlaxoSmithKline, Nycomed, and Pfizer; for consulting from AstraZeneca, Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technology in Health, GlaxoSmithKline, Health Canada, Health Quality Council, Novartis, Nycomed, Pfizer, Public Health Agency of Canada, Saskatchewan Medical Association and the Saskatoon Health Region; for research (directed to the University of Saskatchewan) from AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technology in Health, Canadian Institute of Health Research, Dalhousie University, Forest Research, GlaxoSmithKline, Lung Association of Saskatchewan, McGill University, Nycomed, Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation, Saskatchewan Ministry of Health, Schering, Pfizer, and the University of Alberta; and for organizing education from the American College of Chest Physicians, Boehringer Ingelheim, Canadian Thoracic Society, Merck, Nycomed, and the University of Saskatchewan. Dr. Marciniuk is an employee of the University of Saskatchewan. A.S. Buist has received unrestricted educational grants from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), AstraZeneca (AZ), Novartis, Chiesi, Merck, Boehringer Ingelheim to the BOLD operation Center at Kaiser Center for health Research, Portland, Oregon, and served on advisory boards for GSK, Merck, Novartis and AZ. Denis O’Donnell has served on advisory boards for Boehringer Ingelheim, Pfizer, GSK, Novartis, and Nycomed; has received lecture fees from Boehringer Ingelheim, Astra Zeneca, Pfizer, and GSK; and has received industry-sponsored grants from Boehringer Ingelheim, GSK, and Merck Frosst Canada and from Novartis and Pfizer. Paul Hernandez has participated during the past five years on medical advisory boards for Actelion, AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Novartis, Nycomed, and Pfizer; has conducted clinical research funded by &SetFont Typeface="43";Actelion, AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, CSL Behring, Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, Nycomed, and Pfizer; and received support to travel to ERS Congress from AstraZeneca. Jean Bourbeau, Francois Maltais, Don D. Sin, Robert Cowie, J. Mark FitzGerald, Shawn Aaron have no conflict of interest to declare. This does not alter the authors’ adherence to all the PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

Author Contributions

Conceived and designed the experiments: WCT ASB JB. Performed the experiments: WCT JB RC KRC PH SA DM DEO FM DDS JMF. Analyzed the data: WCT JB DDS. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: WCT JB. Wrote the paper: WCT JB ASB RC KRC PH SA DM DEO FM DDS JMF.