Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease as a cardiovascular risk factor. Results of a case-control study (CONSISTE study).

Introduction: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients present a high prevalence of cardiovascular disease. This excess of comorbidity could be related to a common pathogenic mechanism, but it could also be explained by the existence of common risk factors. The objective of this study was to determine whether COPD patients present greater cardiovascular comorbidity than control subjects and whether COPD can be considered a risk factor per se.

Methods: 1200 COPD patients and 300 control subjects were recruited for this multicenter, cross-sectional, case-control study.

Results: Compared with the control group, the COPD group showed a significantly higher prevalence of ischemic heart disease (12.5% versus 4.7%; P < 0.0001), cerebrovascular disease (10% versus 2%; P < 0.0001), and peripheral vascular disease (16.4% versus 4.1%; P < 0.001). In the univariate risk analysis, COPD, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and dyslipidemia were risk factors for ischemic heart disease. In the multivariate analysis adjusted for the remaining factors, COPD was still an independent risk factor (odds ratio: 2.23; 95% confidence interval: 1.18-4.24; P = 0.014).

Conclusion: COPD patients show a high prevalence of cardiovascular disease, higher than expected given their age and the coexistence of classic cardiovascular risk factors.