Real-world retrospective cohort study ARCTIC shows burden of comorbidities in Swedish COPD versus non-COPD patients

Abstract

This study aimed to generate real-world evidence to assess the burden of comorbidities in COPD patients, to effectively manage these patients and optimize the associated healthcare resource allocation. ARCTIC is a large, real-world, retrospective cohort study conducted in Swedish COPD patients using electronic medical record data collected between 2000 and 2014. These patients were studied for prevalence of various comorbidities and for association of these comorbidities with exacerbations, mortality, and healthcare costs compared with an age-, sex-, and comorbidities-matched non-COPD reference population. A total of 17,479 patients with COPD were compared with 84,514 non-COPD reference population. A significantly higher prevalence of various comorbidities was observed in COPD patients 2 years post-diagnosis vs. reference population, with the highest percentage increase observed for cardiovascular diseases (81.8% vs. 30.7%). Among the selected comorbidities, lung cancer was relatively more prevalent in COPD patients vs. reference population (relative risk, RR = 5.97, p < 0.0001). Ischemic heart disease, hypertension, depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, and asthma caused increased mortality rates in COPD patients. Comorbidities that were observed to be significantly associated with increased number of severe exacerbations in COPD patients included heart failure, ischemic heart disease, depression/anxiety, sleep disorders, osteoporosis, lung cancer, and stroke. The cumulative healthcare costs associated with comorbidities over 2 years after the index date were observed to be significantly higher in COPD patients (€27,692) vs. reference population (€5141) ( p < 0.0001). The data support the need for patient-centered treatment strategies and targeted healthcare resource allocation to reduce the humanistic and economic burden associated with COPD comorbidities.

Chronic lung disease: Tailoring treatment to encompass co-existing conditions

Co-existing conditions should be taken into consideration when treating patients with chronic lung disease to ensure coherent and cost-effective disease management. In a large-scale study of the Swedish population, Björn Ställberg at Uppsala University and co-workers analyzed electronic medical records spanning fourteen years for 17,479 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and compared their health status with 84,514 age-, sex- and comorbidity-matched non-COPD members of the population. Patients with COPD were significantly more likely to suffer from co-morbidities two years after initial diagnosis than their non-COPD counterparts, with cardiovascular diseases being the most common comorbidities. Lung cancer, hypertension, depression and sleep disorders were among other comorbidities more prevalent in the COPD population. These data support the need for fully integrated, targeted healthcare to reduce mortality and the economic burden associated with COPD.