Skip to content
DraconiticResearch
Search Sources API
203,203 studies31 sourcesUpdated 24 min ago
Peer-reviewedCC BYScandinavian journal of primary health care

Comorbid asthma - occurrence and associations with patient-related outcomes in COPD: a cohort study.

  • Åsa Athlin1
  • Karin Lisspers2
  • Mikael Hasselgren3
  • Björn Ställberg2
  • Hanna Sandelowsky4,5
  • Maaike Giezeman1,3
  • Christer Janson6
  • Marta A Kisiel7
  • Gabriella Eliason8
  • Anna Nager4
  • Scott Montgomery9,10,11
  • Josefin Sundh8
11 affiliations
  1. 1School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden.
  2. 2Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, General Practice, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
  3. 3Centre for Clinical Research and Education, Karlstad, Sweden.
  4. 4Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Division of Family Medicine and Primary Care, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
  5. 5Academic Primary Care Centre, Stockholm, Sweden.
  6. 6Department of Medical Sciences, Respiratory, Allergy and Sleep Research, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
  7. 7Department of Medical Sciences, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
  8. 8Department of Respiratory Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden.
  9. 9Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden.
  10. 10Clinical Epidemiology Division, Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
  11. 11Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College, London, UK.
Read full textPDFDOICite

Abstract

Purpose

Clinical features of COPD and asthma overlap, complicating differential diagnosis. This study investigated the prevalence of comorbid asthma in COPD patients and its association with patient-related outcomes.Materials and methods

Patients with a doctor's diagnosis of COPD were randomly selected in two cohorts 2005 (n = 1060) and 2014 (n = 1671), from primary and secondary care in Sweden. Data were collected from medical records and patient questionnaires at baseline and at follow-up (2012 and 2022, respectively). Questionnaires included data on exacerbations. Symptoms were assessed using the clinical COPD questionnaire (CCQ). Comorbid asthma was identified through medical records. Ten-year mortality data were obtained from national registers. Logistic and linear regression assessed associations with patient-reported outcomes; Cox regression was applied for mortality analyses.Results

Comorbid asthma was found in 22% of the 2005 cohort and 9% of the 2014 cohort (p < .001). In both cohorts, it was associated with an increased risk of exacerbations: OR (95% CI) 1.58 (1.07-2.32), p = .02, and 2.20 (1.38-3.52), p < .001, respectively. No associations were found between comorbid asthma and worsening of health status (CCQ). Mortality risk did not differ in the 2005 cohort, HR (95% CI) 0.92 (0.71-1.18), but was lower in the 2014 cohort, HR (95% CI) 0.67 (0.49-0.93), p = .02.Conclusion

Comorbid asthma in COPD has changed from 22 to 9%, potentially due to improved diagnostics. Comorbid asthma remains clinically relevant due to its association with an increased exacerbation risk.

Related

  1. Associations of BCW-informed early rehabilitation nursing with patient compliance and related outcomes in non-dialysis chronic kidney disease patients
    Yingxing Zhou, Xiaodong Cao, Xiaomin Xu +3
    Frontiers in Public HealthPeer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Full textEpidemiology & public healthCrossrefPMC
  2. Antenatal Intravenous Iron Therapy in Anemic Pregnancies: Associations with Obstetric Patient Blood Management and Neonatal Outcomes
    Eleonora Romani, Francesca Parisi, Sara Zullino +8
    NutrientsPeer-reviewedCC BYFull textNutritionEurope PMC
  3. Associations of Mediterranean Diet Adherence with Cardiometabolic Outcomes, Psychological Symptoms, and Health-Related Quality of Life Among Adults Attending Primary Care Centres in Navarra, Spain: A Cross-Sectional Study
    Julieth Paola Sulaiman Rojas, José Abellán Alemán, Gonzalo Luis Alonso Salinas +17
    NutrientsPeer-reviewedCC BYFull textNutritionEurope PMC
  4. Clinical, functional, and quality-of-life characteristics of women with comorbid fibromyalgia and irritable bowel syndrome and their associations with FIQR scores
    Antonella Bianco, Nicola Verrelli, Giuseppe Riezzo +10
    Frontiers in physiologyPeer-reviewedCC BYFull textGeneral medicineEurope PMC
  5. Age-related biological dysregulation quantified using metabolomics is composed of distinct subsystems with synergistic associations to health outcomes: An analysis of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging
    H. Hafezalseheh, M. Chong, A. A. Cohen +5
    bioRxivPreprintCC BY-NC-NDFull textPhysiologybioRxiv

Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{athlin2026comorbid,
  title = {{Comorbid asthma - occurrence and associations with patient-related outcomes in COPD: a cohort study.}},
  author = {Åsa Athlin and Karin Lisspers and Mikael Hasselgren and Björn Ställberg and Hanna Sandelowsky and Maaike Giezeman and Christer Janson and Marta A Kisiel and Gabriella Eliason and Anna Nager and Scott Montgomery and Josefin Sundh},
  journal = {Scandinavian journal of primary health care},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.1080/02813432.2026.2747915},
  url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42894311},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Comorbid asthma - occurrence and associations with patient-related outcomes in COPD: a cohort study.
AU  - Åsa Athlin
AU  - Karin Lisspers
AU  - Mikael Hasselgren
AU  - Björn Ställberg
AU  - Hanna Sandelowsky
AU  - Maaike Giezeman
AU  - Christer Janson
AU  - Marta A Kisiel
AU  - Gabriella Eliason
AU  - Anna Nager
AU  - Scott Montgomery
AU  - Josefin Sundh
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/18
JO  - Scandinavian journal of primary health care
DO  - 10.1080/02813432.2026.2747915
UR  - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42894311
AB  - Purpose  Clinical features of COPD and asthma overlap, complicating differential diagnosis. This study investigated the prevalence of comorbid asthma in COPD patients and its association with patient-related outcomes.Materials and methods  Patients with a doctor's diagnosis of COPD were randomly selected in two cohorts 2005 (n = 1060) and 2014 (n = 1671), from primary and secondary care in Sweden. Data were collected from medical records and patient questionnaires at baseline and at follow-up (2012 and 2022, respectively). Questionnaires included data on exacerbations. Symptoms were assessed using the clinical COPD questionnaire (CCQ). Comorbid asthma was identified through medical records. Ten-year mortality data were obtained from national registers. Logistic and linear regression assessed associations with patient-reported outcomes; Cox regression was applied for mortality analyses.Results  Comorbid asthma was found in 22% of the 2005 cohort and 9% of the 2014 cohort (p < .001). In both cohorts, it was associated with an increased risk of exacerbations: OR (95% CI) 1.58 (1.07-2.32), p = .02, and 2.20 (1.38-3.52), p < .001, respectively. No associations were found between comorbid asthma and worsening of health status (CCQ). Mortality risk did not differ in the 2005 cohort, HR (95% CI) 0.92 (0.71-1.18), but was lower in the 2014 cohort, HR (95% CI) 0.67 (0.49-0.93), p = .02.Conclusion  Comorbid asthma in COPD has changed from 22 to 9%, potentially due to improved diagnostics. Comorbid asthma remains clinically relevant due to its association with an increased exacerbation risk.
SN  - 0281-3432
SN  - 1502-7724
ER  -