Association between the Serum Metabolic Profile and Lung Function in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Although dietary patterns are known to modulate disease severity in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the relationship between the circulating lipid profile and lung function in COPD has not been studied extensively.

There were 43 COPD patients with a history of smoking and 39 patients with a history of biomass fuel exposure recruited in this study, along with 43 age-matched healthy controls. All participants underwent complete lung function profiling, and their glucose and lipid profiles were measured. The association between the metabolic profile and lung function was assessed using the Spearman's rank-order correlation coefficient.

52.4% of the COPD patients were smokers compared to the healthy group (46.5%). We found an inverse correlation between triglyceride and functional residual capacity (p=-0.21, p=0.05) and a positive association between serum cholesterol and overall airway resistance (R5) (p=0.24, p=0.04) and central airway resistance (R20) (p=0.32, p=0.004). Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) ratio and LDL/HDL ratio were also found to correlate with R5 (p=0.25, 0.23, and 0.22, respectively) and R20 (p=0.31, 0.24, and 0.24, respectively). No significant association was observed between other metabolites and either spirometric or plethysmographic lung function indices.

High serum triglyceride and cholesterol may increase the resistance in the airways, which may lead to increased airway obstruction. Therefore, monitoring of lipid profile should be considered in the diagnosis and management of COPD.