title: Body weight in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The National Institutes of Health Intermittent Positive-Pressure Breathing Trial.
abstract: This study reviews the relationship between body weight, pulmonary function, and survival in the recent clinical trial of intermittent positive pressure breathing (IPPB). We related body weight, expressed as a percent of the ideal (%IBW), to the numerous other features of the disease recorded in this data set. Body weight was directly related to FEV1 (p = 0.0001), so that all subsequent analyses of body weight had to first consider FEV1. Mortality appeared to be influenced by body weight independent of FEV1. In patients with %FEV1 less than 35, mortality increased with decreasing body weight (p = 0.093), and this relationship was stronger in patients with %FEV1 35 to 47 (p = 0.048) and even stronger in patients with %FEV1 greater than 47 (p = 0.007). After adjusting for FEV1, body weight was a powerful positive correlate with exercise capacity (p = 0.0001). Body weight was also inversely related to %TLC (p = 0.0408) after adjusting for FEV1. Body weight was a powerful predictor of diffusing capacity (p = 0.0001) in patients with the same FEV1. These results support the hypothesis that factors related to nutritional status are an independent influence on the course of COPD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: D O
authors.initials: DO
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Rogers
authors.forename: E C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Wright
authors.forename: N R
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Anthonisen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001835:Body Weight; D005541:Forced Expiratory Volume; D006801:Humans; D007384:Intermittent Positive-Pressure Breathing; D008173:Lung Diseases, Obstructive / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011653:Pulmonary Diffusing Capacity; D012119:Respiration; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014109:Total Lung Capacity