Comprehensive management for the comorbidities and pulmonary complications in COPD

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has been recently recognized not only as inflammatory airway disorders, but also as a chronic systemic inflammatory syndrome. The systemic inflammation causes a variety of abnormalities in the patients. In the end, systemic comorbidities including cardiovascular diseases, endocrine diseases, gastrointestinal diseases and psychological disorders are highly prevalent in patients with COPD. These disorders and those related pulmonary complications have a great impact on quality of life (QOL) and mortality in the patients. For the improving the QOL and the mortality, we have to diagnose these comorbidities early and to treat the complications properly. This review discusses pathogenic mechanisms of the comorbidities and implications for the comprehensive management in patients with COPD.