Vitamin K Antagonists Linked to Better Outcomes in COPD Patients With AF Compared to DOAC: Study
Denmark: New research has revealed that among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and atrial arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter, treatment with vitamin K antagonists was associated with a lower one-year risk of hospitalization for COPD exacerbation and reduced all-cause mortality compared with direct oral anticoagulants.
The findings were published in BMJ Open Respiratory Research by Bård-Emil Vang Vang Gundersen from Copenhagen Respiratory Research, Gentofte Hospital, Denmark, and colleagues. The researchers conducted the study to explore whether vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) affect the risk of severe COPD exacerbations and mortality in patients who also require anticoagulation therapy for atrial arrhythmias.
Vitamin K–dependent proteins, including matrix GLA protein, are present in lung tissue and have been suggested to play a role in maintaining lung health. Since VKAs inhibit vitamin K–dependent pathways, it has been hypothesized that these medications might increase the risk of COPD exacerbations or adverse outcomes. To examine this possibility, the researchers compared COPD patients treated with VKAs to those receiving direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs).
The nationwide observational cohort study included 7,091 patients diagnosed with COPD and atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter. Among them, 3,455 patients (48.7%) were treated with VKAs, while the remaining participants received DOAC therapy. The primary outcome assessed was the one-year risk of hospitalization due to acute COPD exacerbation or death from any cause.
Key Findings:
- During the follow-up period, 1,955 patients experienced the combined endpoint of COPD-related hospitalization or death.
- Among these, 820 cases occurred in the group treated with vitamin K antagonists.
- After adjusting for established confounding factors using Cox proportional hazards models, VKA therapy was associated with a lower risk of the combined outcome compared with direct oral anticoagulant treatment.
- The adjusted hazard ratio for COPD-related hospitalization or death with VKA treatment was 0.87.
- Sensitivity analyses, including complete-case analysis and inverse probability of treatment weighting, showed similar trends.
- However, the results from these sensitivity analyses did not reach statistical significance.
- Despite this, the overall findings remained consistent with the primary analysis.
The researchers noted that their results do not support the hypothesis that blocking vitamin K–dependent pathways worsens outcomes in COPD. Instead, the study suggests that VKAs are safe for use in patients with COPD who require anticoagulation therapy.
Overall, the findings indicate that treatment with vitamin K antagonists may be associated with a lower risk of severe COPD exacerbations requiring hospitalization and reduced mortality compared with DOACs in patients with COPD and atrial arrhythmias. The authors emphasized that further research is needed to better understand the relationship between vitamin K pathways and lung health.
Reference:
Gundersen BVV, Vognsen AK, Eklöf J, Sivapalan P, Linneberg A, Biering-Sørensen T, et al. COPD and vitamin K antagonism: a cohort study of 1-year all-cause mortality and risk of hospitalisation due to a severe exacerbation. BMJ Open Respiratory Research. 2026;13:e003814. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjresp-2025-003814
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