Health Care Utilization in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Abstract

Health care utilization among COPD patients is approximately twice that of age- and sex-matched controls, with much of the difference attributable to smoking-related diseases. In this health maintenance organization, inpatient costs were similar to and outpatient costs were much higher than national averages for COPD patients covered by Medicare.

Epidemiology and costs of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

“…Respiratory system disorders were the principal discharge diagnosis, but cases with COPD had a higher proportion of discharge diagnoses than controls in almost every major diagnosis category. Admissions for cardiovascular diseases, the leading discharge diagnosis category in controls, were almost twice as common among COPD cases [64].…”

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and the metabolic syndrome: Consequences of a dual threat

“…[3839] Systemic inflammation is probably an important contributory factor responsible for both COPD and diabetes mellitus. The nurses’ healthy study: a prospective study over an 8-year period had showed that COPD patients have a 1.8% relative risk of developing diabetes.…”

Clinical and Individual Factors Associated with Smoking Quit Attempts among Adults with COPD: Do Factors Vary with Regard to Race?

“…Smoking cessation in the COPD patient reduces respiratory symptoms, and is associated with improvement in health-related quality of life and increased survival [5,6,7,8]. Despite the benefits of smoking cessation, 36%–46% of adults with COPD are current smokers [4,9,10,11]. …”