A study carried out in Lleida shows the worsening of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in people who also suffer from diabetes

A study conducted in primary care in Lleida confirms the worsening of patients diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who also suffer from type II diabetes. Specifically, the study showed that the incidence of hospitalisation for severe exacerbation (hospitalisations) of COPD in this group of patients was 9.98%. The study 'Incidence of severe exacerbation in patients co-diagnosed with diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a cohort study' was recently published in the journal Atención Primaria.

The research involved the participation of 761 patients diagnosed with the two pathologies from 7 Primary Care Centres (CAP) in the city of Lleida (CAP Bordeta-Magraners, CAP Rambla Ferran, CAP Primer de Maig, CAP Eixample, CAP Balàfia-Pardinyes, CAP Cappont and CAP Onze de Setembre). The research staff analysed different demographic variables and habits to see their evolution during the 2018-2019 flu season. They also analysed the influence of the influenza and pneumococcal vaccines, although they showed a weak protective role and more studies would be needed to see their role.

"Currently there are many studies that treat patients with one of the two diseases separately, but few treat patients diagnosed with both," said Maite Castañ, researcher and first author of the article. "This study provides new evidence of the characteristics of patients diagnosed with MPOC and type II diabetes from primary care clinics in a specific geographical study area," she said.

The research - led by Maite Castañ-Abad, Pere Godoy, Sandra Bertran, Josep Montserrat-Capdevila and Marta Ortega - involved the participation of researchers from the Catalan Institute of Health in Lleida, the Lleida Biomedical Research Institute (IRBLleida), the Lleida Epidemiology Service, the Centre for Biomedical Research Epidemiology and Public Health Network (CIBERESP), the University of Lleida, the Arnau de Vilanova University Hospital of Lleida and the Jordi Gol i Gurina University Institute for Primary Health Care Research (IDIAPJGol-Primary Care Lleida).

Research article:

Castañ-Abad MT, Godoy P, Bertran S, Montserrat-Capdevila J, Ortega M. Incidence of severe exacerbation in patients co-diagnosed with diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: cohort study [Incidence of severe exacerbation in patients diagnosed with diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: Cohort study]. Primary Care. 2021 May 22;53(8):102074. Spanish. doi: 10.1016/j.aprim.2021.102074. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34033994.