Metabolic syndrome in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Abstract

Background: The metabolic syndrome (MS) is a frequent condition found among the elderly patients. The association with a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) may impact on COPD severity and outcome. The Aim: assess prevalence of MS in COPD patients and evaluate its impact on severity of the disease. Methods: A prospective study was conducted during two years (2016-2017). Seventy four patients with the confirmed diagnosis of COPD were included. The diagnosis of the MS was based on the criteria of International Diabetes Federation. We divided the population into 2 groups: A: patients with MS; B: patients without MS. Results: MS was present in 23% of patients. The frequencies of MS in patients with GOLD (global initiative for chronic obstructive lung disease) stages A, B, C, D were respectively 100%, 20%, 44% and 20% (p=0.039). Dyspnea was more frequent in group A (p=0.07) There were no significant differences between the two groups according to number of exacerbation/year (2.65 vs 2.88; p=0.7) and bronchial obstruction (p=0.14). Inflammatory biomarkers were increased in patients with MS with a mean level of C reactive protein equal to 7.14 mg/l vs 5.43 in group B, the sedimentation rate was equal to 23.08 vs 22.33 in group B. Conclusions: In this study, almost a fifth of the patients with COPD had metabolic syndrome, with a lower frequency in patients with severe COPD. The coexisting metabolic syndrome is associated with an increase in the levels of some systemic inflammatory markers.