Despite being a disease with the constantly rising social burden and mortality, COPD is
also associated with a number of other conditions known as comorbidities. COPD and other diseases
often share similar risk factors, such as smoking and aging, which leads to increased prevalence of
comorbidities. The key pathogenic mechanisms of COPD are chronic inflammation and oxidative
stress and they also contribute significantly to the development of accompanying diseases. Through
complex interactions, COPD increases the risk for certain comorbidities and they, in turn, have a
negative impact on health status and contribute to mortality in COPD patients. Proper treatment of
comorbidities may have a beneficial effect on COPD natural course and progression. Here we review
the prevalence of the most common comorbidities of COPD; their interrelating mechanism and the
current advances of the treatment in terms of co-existence.