Muscle Dysfunction in Smokers and Patients With Mild COPD: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Area of Science:

• Pulmonary Medicine
• Muscle Physiology
• Smoking-Related Diseases

Background:

• Smoking is a major risk factor for various health issues, including respiratory diseases.
• Muscle dysfunction is a recognized complication in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
• The specific impact of smoking and mild COPD on muscle function requires further elucidation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review and synthesize existing literature on muscle function in smokers.
• To examine the association between smoking and muscle dysfunction.
• To compare muscle function in smokers versus patients with mild COPD (GOLD I).

Main Methods:

• Comprehensive literature search across multiple databases (PubMed, Pedro, CINAHL, Cochrane, Lilacs, EMBASE).
• Inclusion criteria: studies on muscle strength, endurance, or cross-sectional area (CSA) in smokers and/or GOLD I COPD patients without lung cancer.
• Two independent authors screened and selected studies for review.

Main Results:

• Conflicting findings exist regarding muscle strength differences between smokers and non-smokers.
• Patients with mild COPD (GOLD I) demonstrated lower muscle strength compared to smokers.
• Preliminary evidence suggests mild COPD patients have lower muscle CSA than smokers.

Conclusions:

• The impact of smoking on muscle dysfunction is not consistently reported in the literature.
• Emerging evidence indicates that mild COPD is associated with greater muscle dysfunction and reduced muscle CSA compared to smoking alone.
• Further research is warranted to clarify the relationship between smoking, COPD severity, and muscle function.