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Low total protein predicts adverse outcomes in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Yiben Huang1, Jianing Wang1,2, Zicong Dai1,2
1Department of Respiratory and Critical Medicine, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, 325000, China.
Purpose:
Total protein (TP), comprising albumin and globulin, is a common and readily available indicator. This study aimed to assess the correlation between total protein and disease severity as well as exercise tolerance in patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Methods:
A total of 84 patients with COPD were recruited in this study. Plasma total protein levels, body mass index, air-flow obstruction, dyspnea, exercise capacity (BODE) index, the six-minute walking distance (6MWD), lung function and other relevant data were recorded. Patients were divided into three groups according to TP tertiles. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to evaluate the performance of TP in predicting severe COPD (BODE ≥ 5). Besides, logistic regression analyses were conducted to assess whether TP was an independent factor associated with BODE grades.
Results:
COPD subjects with TP levels below 61.2 exhibited a significantly higher proportion of severe COPD. Logistic regression analyses substantiated that TP was associated with COPD severity. Compared with albumin and globulin levels, TP levels showed the highest accuracy in predicting a high BODE index in COPD (BODE ≥ 5) (the area under the ROC curve (AUC) = 0.789). Moreover, TP was positively related to 6WMD during the first 30 days of admission.
Conclusions:
A lower level of TP was associated with a higher BODE index, indicating more severe COPD.
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