Patients with COPD and multiple comorbidities are more likely to have increased medical costs and to use treatments such as long-acting muscarinic antagonists and inhaled corticosteroids, according to study results.

The most common comorbidities observed in COPD patients were cardiovascular disease (34.8%), diabetes (22.8%), and asthma (14.7%). Most patients (52.8%) had at least one or two comorbidities of interest, including chronic kidney disease (CKD), depression, osteoporosis and anemia.

The all-cause total health care costs — from the index date and including 180 days preceding that date— increased with the number of patient comorbidities. For COPD patients with no comorbidities of interest, the mean total health care cost was $4,790, while the cost for patients with four or more comorbidities of interest was $27,895.