MONDAY, March 17, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- Arthritis sufferers who also have COPD have a significantly higher risk of death than those without the chronic breathing disease, a new study says.

People with arthritis and COPD are 41% more likely to die from any cause compared to patients with arthritis alone, researchers reported recently in the Journal of the COPD Foundation.

Patients with combined arthritis and COPD also had a 29% higher risk of heart-related death, the study says.

“These results highlight the importance of COPD screening, particularly in people with arthritis,” senior researcher Dr. Chengfeng Fu said in a news release.

“Screening and earlier diagnosis of COPD would enable health care professionals to help people manage their diseases more effectively and increase their quality of life,” added Fu, who is a pulmonologist at the Second People’s Hospital of Banan District in Chongqing, China.

For the study, researchers analyzed data on more than 11,000 participants in a federal U.S. health survey between 1999 and 2018. These included nearly 1,800 people with COPD and more than 9,500 without COPD.

During a follow-up of nearly nine years, researchers found a significant association between COPD and increased death rates among people with arthritis.

This aligns with previous research that has suggested a connection between COPD and arthritis, researchers said, as the diseases share common factors -- inflammation, lifestyle risks and genetics.

“Our study demonstrated an increased risk of all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality in people who had COPD and arthritis when compared to people who had arthritis but did not have COPD,” Fu said.

More information

The National Institutes of Health has more on COPD.

SOURCE: COPD Foundation, news release, March 11, 2025