Centrilobular emphysema and airway dysanapsis: factors associated with low respiratory function in younger smokers

Low respiratory function in young adulthood is one of the important factors in the trajectory leading to the future development of COPD, but its morphological characteristics are not well characterised.

We retrospectively enrolled 172 subjects aged 40-49 years with ≥10 pack-years smoking history who underwent lung cancer screening by computed tomography (CT) and spirometry at two Japanese hospitals. Emphysema was visually assessed according to the Fleischner Society guidelines and classified into two types: centrilobular emphysema (CLE) and paraseptal emphysema (PSE). Airway dysanapsis was assessed with the airway/lung ratio (ALR), which was calculated by the geometric mean of the lumen diameters of the 14 branching segments divided by the cube root of total lung volume on a CT scan.

Among the subjects, CLE and PSE were observed in 20.9% and 30.8%, respectively. The mean ALR was 0.04 and did not differ between those with and without each type of emphysema. Multivariable regression analysis models adjusted for age, sex, body mass index and smoking status indicated that CLE and a low ALR were independently associated with lower forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV₁)/forced vital capacity (estimate -1.64 (95% CI -2.68- -0.60) and 6.73 (95% CI 4.24-9.24), respectively) and FEV₁ % pred (estimate -2.81 (95% CI -5.10- -0.52) and 10.9 (95% CI 5.36-16.4), respectively).

CLE and airway dysanapsis on CT were independently associated with low respiratory function in younger smokers.