Pattern of co-morbidities in patients of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a disease of the elderly population is continuously increasing across the globe. COPD can be associated with the comorbidities, which in turn affect the course or severity of the disease. Objectives: To study the pattern of comorbidities in stable patients of COPD, and their comparison with apparently healthy attendant of the age of ≥35 years. Materials and Methods: A total of 121 COPD patients and 130 healthy attendants of patients coming to the respiratory disease department were enrolled in the study. All participants were evaluated for detailed clinical history, physical examinations, laboratory investigations, Hamilton depression rating scale, polysomnography, echocardiography, and ophthalmological tests to get the different variables. Results: Comorbidities in the case group having COPD were found more prevalent. Prevalence of hypertension (cases [n = 32], control [n = 12], odds ratio = 3.53, P = 0.004), depression (cases [n = 38], control [n = 18], odds ratio = 2.85, P = 0.0013), bronchiectasis (cases [n = 14], control [n = 3], odds ratio = 5.54, P = 0.0046), tuberculosis (cases [n = 20], control [n = 9], odds ratio = 2.66, P = 0.0187), ischemic heart diseases (cases [n = 19], control [n = 9], odds ratio = 2.5, P = 0.043), and musculoskeletal disorder including arthritis, peri-arthritis, and osteoporosis (cases [n = 28], control [n = 13], odds ratio = 2.70, P = 0.0060) found statistically significant in COPD patients in comparison to healthy controls. Other comorbidities such as diabetes, cataract, dyslipidemia, and uterine prolapsed were more common in COPD patients but these differences were not statistically significant. Also, 85.98% of COPD patients had at least one comorbidity. Conclusion: Our data showed that comorbidities viz hypertension, depression, bronchiectasis, tuberculosis, ischemic heart diseases, and musculoskeletal disorders are prevalent in COPD patients compared to healthy individuals.