OBJECTIVES: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive lung disease affecting an estimated 24 million individuals in the USA. Although research commonly focuses on older individuals, patients with COPD prior to work retirement may face loss of productivity. The study objective was to describe and compare the characteristics amongst employed adults with COPD according to missed work status. METHODS: Employed adults (≥18 years) with clinical classification code 127 (COPD and bronchiectasis) were retrospectively identified by pooling data from 2011 and 2012 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey and stratified into: (1) those who reported no missed work, and (2) those who reported missed work. Descriptive statistics were utilized to assess the differences in demographics, clinical characteristics and healthcare utilization. Healthcare utilization was quantified for office-based, emergency, inpatient, outpatient visits and prescription use. Logistic regression was utilized to assess the factors associated with missing work. Analysis was performed using Statistical Analysis System 9.4 software (SAS Institute; Cary, NC). RESULTS: A total of 585 adults were identified from the survey data: group 1 (n=185) and group 2 (n=400). Statistical significance was observed for sex (p<0.001), education status (p=0.029) and perceived health status (p=0.039). The results of the regression showed that males had significantly lower odds of missing work as compared to women (OR: 0.465, 95% CI: 0.325-0.666) and adults who perceived their health status as ‘fair’ or ‘poor’ had significantly higher odds of missing work as compared to those who rated ‘excellent’ or ‘very good’ (OR: 2.012, 95% CI 1.141-3.548). Though utilization was not significantly different, adults who missed work had higher costs as compared to those who did not miss work. CONCLUSIONS: Female sex and poor perception of health status is associated with missing work in adults with COPD, which may result in higher healthcare utilization costs.