Association between anemia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations in Cartagena Colombia: a prospective cohort study

Background The presence of anemia in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is not an infrequent event. Exacerbations of this disease have been associated with an increase in mortality in these patients. It is not clear if the presence of anemia is associated with the risk of exacerbations. Objective To establish the association between anemia and the incidence of outcomes related to exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Methods Analytical study of a dynamic or open concurrent prospective cohort of patients diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at two health care institutions in Cartagena, Colombia, between July 2010 and July 2011. Results 43.9% had anemia at the start of follow-up. The cumulative incidence of exacerbations was 63% in the anemic vs. 55.5% in the non-anemic group. The cumulative incidence of recurrence of exacerbations was 30.4% in the anemic vs. 38.8% in the non-anemic group. The rate of hospitalizations for exacerbations was 30.4% in the anemic vs. 33.3% in the non-anemic group. Conclusions No significant association was established between anemia and the incidence of exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the incidence of recurrence of first exacerbation, the rate of hospitalizations for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations and the recurrence time of the first exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.