PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Lies Lahousse
AU  - Guy Joos
AU  - Albert Hofman
AU  - Bruno Stricker
AU  - Guy Brusselle
TI  - Cause-specific mortality in mild COPD: The Rotterdam Study
DP  - 2014 Sep 01
TA  - European Respiratory Journal
PG  - P1079
VI  - 44
IP  - Suppl 58
4099  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/44/Suppl_58/P1079.short
4100  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/44/Suppl_58/P1079.full
SO  - Eur Respir J2014 Sep 01; 44
AB  - Background:Since patients with mild chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are rarely included in large COPD cohort studies and clinical trials, little is known about their cause specific mortality.Aim:To identify the main causes of death in subjects with mild COPD (GOLD stage I) compared to moderate/severe COPD and subjects without respiratory symptoms and a normal spirometry.Methods:In participants of the Rotterdam Study, a large prospective population-based cohort study, information on vital status was obtained regularly from the municipal health authorities in Rotterdam. The cause of death was determined in 257 participants who had performed a spirometry at the research centre between 2002 and 2010. The classification of deaths was based on the 10th revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10).Results: Two thirds of the subjects with mild COPD died due to cardiovascular causes (51%) or lung cancer (12%), whereas only 2% of mild COPD patients died from pulmonary causes.Conclusions:The high percentages of cardiovascular death and lung cancer death emphasize the need for optimal diagnosis and treatment of comorbidities in patients with mild COPD to decrease mortality.