Sep. 26, 2011 Patients suffering from chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease (COPD) are at a higher risk of death if they
are underweight. A new study, which will be presented September
26, 2011 at the European Respiratory Society's Annual Congress
in Amsterdam, assessed the link between death rates and the
weight of COPD patients. The research also assessed the link
with other co-existing diseases, such as heart disease. The
World Health Organization predicts that COPD will become the
third leading cause of death worldwide by 2030. A number of co-
morbid conditions often exist with COPD, including
cardiovascular disease, muscle wasting, type-2 diabetes and
asthma. In a study by researchers at Uppsala University in
Sweden, 552 patients were assessed. Information was collected
using questionnaires to review patients' age, education, smoking
status and level of care. They also looked at information on
lung function and history of comorbidities. The results showed
that heart disease, hypertension and being underwe