Summary

Epidemiological studies have documented a high prevalence of comorbid conditions among patients who have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), including hypertension, ischemic heart disease, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes, and anxiety and depression [Barr RG et al. Am J Med 2009; Carrasco-Garrido P et al. BMC Pulm Med 2009; Finkelstein J et al. Int J COPD 2009]. The epidemiological data underscore the need to know whether clinical trial results have come from studies that adequately represent the comorbidities of COPD patients.