Objective Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, but longitudinal studies of the economic consequences of COPD are scarce. This Danish study evaluated for the first time ever the economic consequences of COPD of an entire nation before and after the diagnosis.

Setting Records from the Danish National Patient Registry (1998–2010), direct and indirect costs, including frequency of primary and secondary sector contacts and procedures, medication, unemployment benefits and social transfer payments were extracted from national databases.

Participants 131 811 patients with COPD were identified and compared with 131 811 randomly selected controls matched for age, gender, educational level, residence and marital status.

Primary and secondary outcome measures Direct and indirect economic and health consequences of COPD in Denmark in the time period 1998–2010.

Results Patients with COPD had a poor survival. The average (95% CI) 12-year survival rate was 0.364 (0.364 to 0.368) compared with 0.686 among controls (0.682 to 0.690). COPD was associated with significantly higher rates of health-related contacts, medication use and higher socioeconomic costs. The employment and the income rates of employed patients with COPD were significantly lower compared with controls. The annual net costs, including social transfers were €8572 for patients with COPD. These consequences were present up to 11 years before first-time diagnosis in the secondary healthcare sector and became more pronounced with disease advancement.

Conclusions This study provides unique national data on direct and indirect costs before and after initial diagnosis with COPD in Denmark as well as mortality, health and economic consequences for the individual and for society. It could be speculated that early identification and intervention might contribute to the solution.