ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: wis a disease with constantly rising economic and social burden; it is associated with multiple comorbidities which contribute to the disease severity. AIM: To investigate the prevalence of co-morbidities in COPD patients and their association with the disease severity and CRP levels. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study among 338 COPD patients (mean age 65.2±7.6 years) with assessment of comorbidities, spirometry measurements and serum levels of CRP. In 183 patients we found metabolic syndrome (MS) according to IDF criteria. RESULTS: We found prevalence of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) of 73.5% (hyper-tension 70.4%, CHF 47.4%, ishemic heart disease 37.5%, and cardiac arrhythmias 12.6%), with higher prevalence in patients with more severe disease. We found prevalence of type 2 diabetes of 21.1%, and 12.4% prevalence of bronchiectasis. In a subpopulation of the patients we found 48.1% prevalence of MS and the serum levels of CRP were significantly higher in patients with COPD and MS compared to those without the syndrome: 7.4 (3.14 - 11. 54) mg/ml vs 4.06 (2.64 - 6.93) mg/ml, p=0.006. CONCLUSION: The present study suggests high prevalence of CVD comorbidities in COPD patients and association with the disease severity. Metabolic syndrome is a common comorbidity and is associated with increased inflammatory response.
