Comorbidities reduce survival and quality of life in COPD with severe lung hyperinflation

Patients with COPD often present with a significant number of comorbidities, which are thought to be related to a higher mortality risk. Our aim was to investigate the prevalence and impact of comorbidities on survival and quality of life (QoL), specifically in patients with emphysema characterised by severe lung hyperinflation. Data were prospectively collected from patients who visited our hospital for evaluating their eligibility for a bronchoscopic lung volume reduction treatment and were included in the Groningen Severe COPD cohort (NCT04023409). Comorbidities were patient-reported by a questionnaire and were validated with patients' medical records. QoL was assessed with the St Georges Respiratory Questionnaire. We included 830 COPD patients with Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) stage III and IV. The total number of comorbidities was an independent predictor of survival when adjusting for other factors influencing survival (HR 1.12, 95% CI 1.05-1.20, p5 comorbidities had a significantly (all p