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Relationship between FEV1 and arterial stiffness in elderly people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

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Abstract

Background

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is highly prevalent in the elderly, and both COPD and age per se are associated with cardiovascular morbidity.

Aims

We tested the hypothesis that in elderly COPD patients airflow limitation is associated with arterial stiffness and the relationship, if any, is related to endothelial function and systemic inflammation.

Methods

We evaluated lung function, augmentation index (AIx), flow-mediated dilation (FMD), Interleukin-6 (IL-6), and asymmetric dymethilarginine (ADMA) levels in 76 subjects (mean age 73.9 years, SD 6.2) attending a geriatric outpatient clinic.

Results

Participants with COPD (N = 41) and controls (N = 35) did not differ in terms of AIx (30 vs 28.2 %, P = 0.30) and FMD (14.2 vs 12.3 %, P = 0.10). Similarly, the two groups did not differ with respect to mean concentrations of inflammation markers (IL-6 and C-reactive protein) and ADMA. Among COPD participants there was an inverse correlation between AIx and Forced Expiratory Volume in the first second (r = −0.349, P = 0.02). This relationship remained significant after correction for potential confounders, including markers of inflammation and ADMA levels (β = −0.194, P = 0.001).

Discussion

According to the results of this study, among COPD patients, bronchial patency and AIx are inversely related, and the relationship is explained neither by endothelial function nor by systemic inflammation.

Conclusions

In elderly COPD people, increased arterial stiffness is related to reduced pulmonary function and it seems worth testing as a potential marker of higher cardiovascular risk.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Area di Geriatria, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Via Álvaro del Portillo 200, 00128, Rome, Italy

    Luisa Costanzo, Claudio Pedone, Domenica Chiurco, Simona Santangelo & Raffaele Antonelli-Incalzi

  2. Fondazione Alberto Sordi, Rome, Italy

    Claudio Pedone

  3. Laboratorio di Patologia Clinica e Microbiologia, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Via Álvaro del Portillo, 200, 00128, Rome, Italy

    Fabrizio Battistoni

  4. Fondazione S. Raffaele-Cittadella della Carità, Piazzale Mons, Guglielmo Motolese, 1, 74123, Taranto, Italy

    Raffaele Antonelli-Incalzi

Authors
  1. Luisa Costanzo
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Correspondence to Luisa Costanzo.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Costanzo, L., Pedone, C., Battistoni, F. et al. Relationship between FEV1 and arterial stiffness in elderly people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Aging Clin Exp Res 29, 157–164 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-016-0560-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-016-0560-3

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