BackgroundChronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with important chronic comorbid diseases, including diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. As very limited data is available in India, the aim of the present study was to determine the relationship between COPD and the common, chronic comorbid conditions of diabetes mellitus (DM), hypertension (HTN), and cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and also to determine how these affect the clinical course of COPD.MethodsAll the COPD cohorts diagnosed as per Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease-2013 (GOLD-2013) criteria were screened for DM, HTN, and CVD as per stipulated national and WHO guidelines.ResultsThe prevalence of DM, HTN, and CVD in the 2432 COPD subjects was 25.94%, 37.25%, and 13.93%, respectively. In multivariate analyses, very severe COPD was associated with a higher risk of DM (odds ratio [OR] 1.6, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.2–2), HTN (OR 1.6, 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and CVD (OR 2.5, 95% CI 1.9–3.0).ConclusionA significant relationship was found between COPD and the presence of comorbid DM, HTN, and CVD. It was also found that subjects with advanced COPD were more likely to have at least two of these conditions and hugely affect the outcome of the disease. These findings suggest that the presence of COPD could provide a rationale to look for other comorbid disease and, conversely, that the presence of DM, HTN, or CVD might be the basis for the assessment of patients for airflow limitation and COPD as the tobacco smoking and advancing age were common risk factors.

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Trace elements such as iron play essential roles in the metabolic and immune functions of the body. Anaemia is known to suppresses immunity and it was assessed based on iron deficiency. The present study was done to elucidate the correlation of iron deficiency anaemia to chronic and recurrent tonsillitis. A 1 -year observational study was conducted and 100 patients with recurrent tonsillitis were included. Serum iron were estimated by spectrometry. Anemia was assessed based on Hb levels, TIBC and peripheral smears. Spearman’s and Pearson’s correlation Coefficients were used for the statistical analysis. 84% of the patients had a iron deficiency anaemia, 56% had low serum iron, There was a significant corelation between anaemia and low serum iron among the study population, the Spearman’s correlation coefficient r value was 0.824 and the p value was less than 0.05 between iron deficiency anaemia and recurrent tonsillitis with higher grades of hypertrophy and symptoms as well. In order to plan the treatment of tonsillitis and predict the prognosis accurately we need to assess the patient’s immune status, for which serum iron and markers of anaemia can be used. This will be a novel and economical prognostic biomarker which can be embraced in the modern, evidence-based practice of otorhinolaryngology.