Mortality Outcomes of Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with higher mortality in the general population. We studied the associations between COPD and death among chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients along with reporting cause-specific death data.

We included 56,960 patients with stages 3 and 4 CKD who were followed in a large health care system. Associations between COPD and all-cause mortality and various causes of death (respiratory deaths, cardiovascular deaths, malignancy-related deaths and deaths due to other reasons) were studied using the Cox proportional hazards and competing risk models.

Out of 56,960 CKD patients, 4.7% (n = 2,667) had underlying COPD. Old age, presence of diabetes, hypertension, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, and smoking were associated with higher risk for COPD. During a median follow-up of 3.7 years, 15,969 patients died. After covariate adjustment, COPD was associated with a 41% increased risk (95% CI 1.31-1.52) for all-cause mortality, and fourfold increased risk (sub-hazard ratio 4.36, 95% CI 3.54-5.37) for respiratory-related deaths. In a sensitivity analysis that was performed by defining COPD as the use of relevant International Classification of Diseases-9 codes and medications used to treat COPD, similar results were noted.

COPD is associated with higher risk for death among those with CKD, and an underlying lung disease accounts for significant proportion of deaths. These data highlight the need for further prospective studies to understand the underlying mechanisms and potential interventions to improve outcomes in this population.