A prospective study of decline in fat free mass and skeletal muscle strength in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Abstract

Decline in fat free mass in COPD is associated with worse lung function, continued cigarette consumption and frequent exacerbations. Factors predicting progression of quadriceps weakness could not be identified from the present cohort.

Age-graded reductions in quadriceps muscle strength and peak aerobic capacity in COPD

“…Moreover, small but signifi cant reductions in quadriceps muscle strength 10 and peak V O 2 11,12 were found in (mostly male) COPD patients over a 1 to 5 year period, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, this is the fi rst study to show an agegraded reduction in quadriceps muscle strength and peak V O 2 in patients with COPD after correction for possible confounding factors, such as gender, LL-LMM, and D L CO. More importantly this study corroborates the previously identifi ed decrease in lower-limb muscle function in patients with COPD 3,16 .…”

“…Hopkinson at al. 10 reported a non-significant decline of 0.2 kilogram in fat-free mass during a 1-year follow-up period in 64 COPD patients 10 . Also in the current cross-sectional analyses no age-graded reductions in LL-LMM were found, except for the older male COPD patients with a D L CO >50% predicted (Figure 3d and Table E6 of the online supplement).…”

“…Quadriceps muscle strength and peak V O 2 have been demonstrated to decline over time in outpatients with COPD [10][11][12] . However, the reductions in quadriceps muscle strength and peak V O 2 in patients with COPD have only been studied in relatively small samples over a period of 1 to 5 years.…”

“…However, lean muscle mass is expected to decrease over time, in particular in the lower limbs 13 and it is a well-known determinant of quadriceps muscle strength and peak V O 2 in patients with COPD 14,15 . In addition, gender and gas transfer capacity of the lungs have both been shown to be determinants of lean muscle mass, quadriceps muscle strength, and peak V O 2 in COPD and should therefore also be taken into consideration 10,14,[16][17][18][19][20] .…”

Klotho and smoking – An interplay influencing the skeletal muscle function deficits that occur in COPD

“…Firstly, lower limb muscle weakness is more prevalent than loss of whole body fat free mass (24,25) in COPD. Secondly, it has been clearly demonstrated that rectus femoris cross sectional area and quadriceps maximal voluntary contraction force are reduced in patients with mild disease, in whom there is only minimal pulmonary impairment to exercise (26).…”