Comorbidities of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease – An Observational Case–Control Study

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Abstract Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) presently ranks globally as one of the top three causes of mortality. COPD is constantly seen coexisting with other diseases and this association negatively affects patients with the disease, in the context of exacerbations, morbidity, mortality, and quality of life. Identifying and managing the different comorbidities presents diagnostic challenges for both the health-care provider and the patient. However, the distribution and types of comorbidities vary among various studies from different parts of the world. Objective: The objective is to study the prevalence of various comorbidities in COPD versus age and sex-matched non-COPD group. Materials and Methods: The study is designed as an observational case–control study from a tertiary care center in South Kerala. A total of 150 patients diagnosed with COPD attending the pulmonary medicine department and 150 non-COPD nonsmoker patients attending other medical and surgery wards were recruited for the study. They were evaluated for the prevalence of major comorbidities with the help of a questionnaire and relevant investigations and results were analyzed by applying Chi-square test. Results: Mostly encountered comorbidities among COPD versus non-COPD patients were hypertension (53.3% vs. 38.67%, P = 0.01), coronary artery disease (35.67% vs. 24%, P = 0.006), diabetes mellitus (DM) (40% vs. 28.67%, P = 0.003), arrhythmias (12.67% vs. 6% P = 0.047), carcinoma lung (6.67% vs. 0, P = 0.0038), osteoporosis (29.33% vs. 16.67%, P = 0.009), sarcopenia (21.3% VS 12.67, P = 0.01), pneumonia (20.6% vs. 6%, P = 0.009), anxiety and/or depression (27.33% vs. 14.6%, P = 0.001). Conclusion: These comorbidities were found to have a statistically significant association with COPD versus non-COPD group. Results from our study are at par with similar studies in the literature.