The Impact of Sarcopenic Obesity on the Course of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in Elderly Men

The objective: to study the potential effect of sarcopenic obesity (SO) on the course of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in elderly men. Subjects and Methods. Seventy-four men aged 60-74 years were examined. All of them had COPD GOLD II, Group A or B, and a post-bronchodilator FEV1/FVC ratio <0.7, COPD Assessment Test < 20 points. 36 patients had sarcopenic obesity. Results. Patients with COPD+SO versus COPD Group were older ( p =0.047), had more pronounced inflammaging according to the neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR), monocyte/lymphocyte ratio (MLR), and systemic inflammatory index. When assessing relationship between MLR and percentage of body fat (PBF), a direct relationship was established ( p =0.842, p <0.001). In COPD+SO Group, FEV1 values were lower ( p =0.010), and the chance of moderate dyspnea (mMRS=2) was 9.7 times higher. The impact of COPD on the quality of life of patients (according to SAT test) was 8.4 times higher when combined with SO. Patients with mild dyspnea (0-1 as per) had significantly higher muscle mass values than those with moderate or severe dyspnea, regardless of their SO status ( p =0.04). Patients with COPD+SO had more pronounced impairments of their physical activity according to the 6MW and 5.squat-stand tests ( p <0.001).