Metabolic syndrome and carotid intima-media thickness in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Abstract

BackgroundThe aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS), carotid intima media thickness (IMT), and serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and the possible relationships among them.MethodsFifty stable COPD patients and 40 healthy controls were included in the study. The participants were further divided into four groups according to their smoking status. Pulmonary function tests were performed in COPD patients. Anthropometric measurements and blood chemistry analysis, serum CRP levels and carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) measurements were performed in all the study population.ResultsPrevalence of metabolic syndrome was 43% in COPD patients and 30% in the control group (p = 0.173). FEV1% and FEV1/FVC were higher in COPD patients with MetS (p = 0.001 and p = 0.014, respectively) compared to those without MetS. Prevalence of MetS was significantly different among the COPD patients with different stages (p = 0.017) with the highest value in stage 2 (59%). Carotid IMT was significantly higher in COPD patients than in control group (1.07 ± 0.25 mm and 0.86 ± 0.18 mm, respectively; p < 0.001). Serum CRP levels were not different in COPD patients and controls, however they were higher in individuals with MetS compared to those without MetS regardless of COPD presence (p = 0.02).ConclusionsEarly markers of atherogenesis, in terms of carotid IMT, were found to be higher in COPD patients than in healthy controls. MetS prevalence was observed to decrease as the severity of airflow obstruction increased. Therefore, screening COPD patients for these cardiovascular risk factors would be a novel approach even in absence of symptoms.

Atherosclerosis is Associated Comorbidity in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Ultrasound Assessment of Carotid Intima Media Thickness

“…Additionally, CIMT was found to be significantly higher among our study COPD patients than the controls (0.85±0.18 mm vs. 0.63±0.076 mm, p<0.001). These results coincide with the results of other studies in the literature (4,17,(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39).…”

Systematic and Endothelial Inflammation and Endothelial Progenitor Cell Levels in Emphysematous Rats Exposed to Intermittent Hypoxia

“…30 One of our previous studies suggests that IH may cause the increase of IMT, 6 and there is substantial evidence that IH in rodents plays a specific role in promoting cellular changes at the vascular wall, thus triggering atherosclerosis. 30,31 Furthermore, Ozgen Alpaydin et al 32 observed increased C-IMT in patients with COPD compared with controls after adjusting for smoking, hypertension, fasting plasma glucose, triglyceride, and high density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. This finding might suggest that patients with air flow obstruction are more prone to atherogenesis due to some other mechanisms apart from smoking.…”

“…This finding might suggest that patients with air flow obstruction are more prone to atherogenesis due to some other mechanisms apart from smoking. 32 This emphasizes the importance of timely diagnosis and treatment of coexistent COPD and OSA for preventing the development of severe cardiovascular complications.…”

The Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome In Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Systematic Review

“…The prevalence of male patients was significantly lower in the MetS group compared to the non-MetS group. Furthermore, four studies reported higher serum C-reactive protein (31,(34)(35)(36) and serum interleukin-6 (31) in COPD patients with MetS compared with patients without MetS (data not shown).…”

“…In total, 10 studies compared COPD patients (n = 2864) with a control group (n = 24532) (25,30,34,(36)(37)(38)(39)(40)(41). Characteristics of COPD patients are shown in Table 2, characteristics of the controls are presented in Supplemental Table S1.…”