ObjectiveTo investigate prevalence of anxiety and depression in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in order to increase the awareness of physicians on this comorbidity.MethodsPatients were from a multicenter prospective cohort study and 13 institutions or hospitals participated in the study. Four hundred and ten patients with a prior diagnosis of COPD were prospectively recruited from January 2017 to January 2019, and baseline date were analyzed. Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale was used to identify anxiety and depression.ResultsThe cohort had a mean age of (60.7±10.0) years with 76.8% males and 74.3% smokers. Seventy-nine patients (19.3%) had anxiety or depression. Among them, 36 subjects (8.8%) had anxiety, and 64 patients (15.6%) were with depression, and 21 patients (5.1%) with anxiety and depression. The prevalence of severe anxiety (2.7%) and severe depression (2.4%) was low. Compared to patients without anxiety or depression, patients with anxiety or depression had significantly higher CAT scores (17.8±9.3 with anxiety, 17.4±8.4 with depression, 12.5±7.3 without anxiety or depression, P 0.002 and 0.000 respectively). The risk of acute exacerbations was higher in patients with depression (37.5% vs. 22.7%, P=0.016). Proportion of patients categorized into GOLD group D was higher in patients with depression (P=0.001).ConclusionsAbout 20% COPD patients has anxiety or depression. Prevalence of depression is two times that of anxiety. The prevalence of severe anxiety or severe depression is low. Patients with depression have lower quality of life, higher risk of acute exacerbations, and higher proportion of patients categorized into GOLD group D.