Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease phenotypes, nutritional status and the risk of falls

Abstract

COPD is commonly associated with nutritional disorders and skeletal muscle dysfunction. The aim: of our study was to investigate a possible connection between the body composition and balance impairment in different COPD phenotypes (emphysematous and bronchitic). Methods: 27 stable COPD patients (both emphysematous and bronchitic phenotypes) and 17 healthy subjects (control group) having similar demographic data. We analyzed the body mass index (BMI), the percentage of free-fat mass (FFM) and the percentage of body fat. We also analyzed the impact of different COPD phenotypes on equilibrium using several tests: COPD Assessment Test (CAT), 6 minutes walking test (6MWT), Activities Balance Confidence scale (ABC), Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Single Leg Stance (SLS) and Timed Up and Go test (TUG). Results: We observed differences in BMI values (25.3 control vs. 17.6 emphysematous phenotype, vs. 36.1 bronchitic phenotype), FFM (77.1% vs. 87.2% vs. 58.9%) and body fat (18.2% vs. 10.2 % vs. 37.3%). Presence of COPD was associated with significant worsening of balance tests, especially bronchitic phenotype. Moreover, we found a positive and significant correlation (p Conclusion: COPD patiens have balance impairment compared to healthy subjects and the bronchitic COPD phenotype is more likely to experience falls than the emphysematous COPD phenotype. The body composition and body weight discriminate pulmonary phenotypes, and can be used as predictors of outcome independent of lung function impairment.