scholarly journals The influence of body composition assessed by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry on functional capacity of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

2013 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-78
Author(s):  
Gualberto Ruas ◽  
Gabriel Gomes Ribeiro ◽  
Juliane Moreira Naves ◽  
Mauricio Jamami

INTRODUCTION: The individual with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can experience a significant reduction of body composition, peripheral muscle dysfunction, resulting in a negative influence on functional capacity. OBJECTIVES: To analyze the influence of body composition assessed by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry on functional capacity of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eleven male patients with COPD (COPDG), seven presenting moderate obstruction and four severe, and 11 sedentary male subjects (CG) were evaluated by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry to assess their body composition. All subjects also performed the 6-minute walk test (6MWT) and Step Test (6MST) to assess their functional capacity. RESULTS: No significant differences were found between groups for anthropometric data such as age, weight, height and body mass index (BMI). However, the COPDG presented Forced Vital Capacity (FVC), Forced Expiratory Volume in one second (FEV1), FEV1/FVC ratio, Maximal Voluntary Ventilation (MVV), Walked Distance (WD) and Number of Steps (NS) significantly lower than the CG (p < 0.05, Student's t-test). The Body Bone Mass (BBM), BBM%, Lean Mass (LM), LM%, and Right Lower Limb (RLL) and Left Lower Limb (LLL) were significantly lower in the COPDG when compared with the CG, presenting statistically significant positive correlations with 6MWT's WD and 6MST's NS (p < 0.05, Pearson's test). CONCLUSION: We conclude that body composition is an important prognostic factor for patients with COPD, which reinforces the importance of assessing body composition by dual-energy absorptiometry since it has demonstrated with satisfactory accuracy in clinical practice. Moreover, it is a useful parameter for evaluation and reassessment in pulmonary rehabilitation programs.

2014 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-15
Author(s):  
Fernanda Dultra Dias ◽  
Evelim Leal de Freitas Dantas Gomes ◽  
Roberto Stirbulov ◽  
Vera Lúcia Santos Alves ◽  
Dirceu Costa

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is related to a low body mass index (BMI), reduced functional capacity and reduced bone density, thus justifying the importance of evaluating all of these parameters in the patients with the disease. This is a cross-sectional study, with sample consisting of 20 patients who performed measurement of body composition by bioelectrical impedance, evaluation of functional capacity by the distance traveled in the Incremental Shuttle Walk Test (ISWT) and assessment of severity of obstruction by spirometry. Significant differences were found between the travelled and scheduled distance in the ISWT (p<0.01), positive correlations between muscle mass and distance walked in ISWT (r=0.54 with p=0.01), with FEV1 (r=0.488 with p=0.02), FEV1 and bone mass (r=0.497 with p=0.02) and distance traveled with FEV1 (r=0,541 with p=0.01). The correlations found in this study, besides confirming the hypothesis that the severity of the obstruction presented by the change in the lung parenchyma in patients with COPD is related to changes in body composition and functional capacity reduction, also highlight the correlation with bone mass.


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