Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a significant, and largely under-diagnosed cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide.1 More long-term survivors with advanced disease led to an ageing COPD population profile with an increased level of acute exacerbations, hospitalisations and polymorbidity.2 Footnotes This manuscript has recently been accepted for publication in the European Respiratory Journal . It is published here in its accepted form prior to copyediting and typesetting by our production team. After these production processes are complete and the authors have approved the resulting proofs, the article will move to the latest issue of the ERJ online. Please open or download the PDF to view this article. Conflict of interest: Julio Ancochea Conflict of interest: Francisco Garcia-Rio Conflict of interest: Emma Vazquez-Espinosa Conflict of interest: Ascension Hernando-Sanz Conflict of interest: Luis Lopez-Yepes Conflict of interest: Raul Galera-Martinez Conflict of interest: German Peces-Barba Conflict of interest: Ma Teresa Perez-Warnisher Conflict of interest: Gonzalo Segrelles-Calvo Conflict of interest: Celia Zamarro Conflict of interest: Pablo Gonzalez-Ponce Conflict of interest: M. Inmaculata Ramos Conflict of interest: Jose Ignacio Conforto Conflict of interest: Syed Jafri Conflict of interest: Joan B. Soriano