Fortunately, several recent studies suggest a decrease in the global impact of the disease. The latest estimations of the Global Burden of Disease Study show that COPD was, in 2010, the third-leading cause of mortality worldwide and ninth in the combination of years of life lost or lived with disability (disability-adjusted life years, or DALYs). These data represent an improvement over previous predictions made by the same group and indicate that global mortality and DALYs for COPD in all ages have decreased between 1990 and 2010 by 6.4% and 2.0%, respectively (or measured in age-standardized death rates, a reduction in mortality of 43% and in DALYs of 25%). Several other studies performed with large databases or cohorts also suggest that the prognosis of patients with COPD has improved in the last decade. Because COPD, like many other medical conditions, is not presently curable, the most likely future scenario is that most COPD patients will live progressively longer and thus will suffer more often from concomitant chronic diseases.9 In this sense, several studies performed in patients hospitalized for COPD have reported an increase in the percentage of people older than 85 years of age, along with a greater prevalence of comorbidities and a decrease in physical performance.