Nutrition and the respiratory muscles

Malnutrition may be an important complicating factor in acute and chronic lung disease. Animal studies have demonstrated significant atrophy of diaphragm muscle fibers following prolonged undernutrition resulting in a marked reduction in diaphragm muscle strength as well as alteration in other contractile and fatigue properties of the muscle. In severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), malnutrition is common and may, in conjunction with the influences of hyperinflation on diaphragm performance, predispose to respiratory muscle fatigue and failure. The course of progressive weight loss in patients with COPD is not known but may, in part, be related to a "hypermetabolic" state arising from an increased oxygen consumption of the respiratory muscles secondary to enhanced resistive loads and impaired mechanical efficiency of the respiratory muscles. Reports of the impact of nutritional repletion on respiratory muscle performance in critically ill patients, as well as in patients with COPD, are preliminary. Further studies are necessary to establish whether such measures impact meaningfully on both the morbidity and mortality of these patients.