title: Body composition markers in older persons with COPD.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Body composition has been shown to be correlated with physical performance, but data in older persons with diverse chronic diseases are lacking.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We aimed at investigating the associations of body composition to gait speed and nutritional status of older people in different stages of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional analysis of data from Pulmonary Rehabilitation Geriatric Unit at INRCA in Casatenovo, Italy including 132 consecutively admitted COPD patients (mean age: 75 years) with data on body composition, walking speed and respiratory parameters.
  
  
  METHODS
  Body mass parameters were assessed using bioelectrical impedance analysis. Pulmonary function tests included spirometry and arterial blood gases. Differences among body composition markers were compared according to gender. Separate multivariate linear regression models with gait speed as the dependent variable were used to test for independent associations with body composition markers after adjusting for multiple confounders.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Walking speed deteriorated with increasing severity of COPD. Men were heavier and had more lean mass than women. Participants in the fastest gait tertile were younger, had lower body mass index and fat mass (FM); higher lean-to-fat ratio and albumin levels and better respiratory function (FEV1, FVC) compared with those in the slower tertiles. Total body FM was an independent determinant of walking speed, while fat-free mass and lean-to-fat ratio were not.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Excess body fat may be harmful for physical functioning among elders with COPD.
authors.affiliation: Scientific Direction - Italian National Research Center on Aging (INRCA), Via S. Margherita n. 5, Ancona 6100, Italy.
authors.forename: Angela Marie
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Abbatecola
authors.affiliation: Unit of Pulmonary Rehabilitation, Research Hospital of Casatenovo, Italian National Research Centre on Aging (INRCA), Casatenovo, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fumagalli
authors.affiliation: Statistic and Biometry Center, Department of Gerontology Research, Italian National Research Center on Aging, (INRCA), Ancona, Italy.
authors.forename: Liana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Spazzafumo
authors.affiliation: Scientific Direction - Italian National Research Center on Aging (INRCA), Via S. Margherita n. 5, Ancona 6100, Italy.
authors.forename: Valeria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Betti
authors.affiliation: Scientific Direction - Italian National Research Center on Aging (INRCA), Via S. Margherita n. 5, Ancona 6100, Italy.
authors.forename: Clementina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Misuraca
authors.affiliation: Unit of Geriatric Pharmacoepidemiology, Research Hospital of Cosenza, Italian National Research Center on Aging (INRCA), Cosenza, Italy.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Corsonello
authors.affiliation: Geriatric Hospital, IRCCS, Italian National Research Center on Aging (INRCA), Ancona, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cherubini
authors.affiliation: Unit of Pulmonary Rehabilitation, Research Hospital of Casatenovo, Italian National Research Centre on Aging (INRCA), Casatenovo, Italy.
authors.forename: Enrico E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Guffanti
authors.affiliation: Scientific Direction - Italian National Research Center on Aging (INRCA), Via S. Margherita n. 5, Ancona 6100, Italy.
authors.forename: Fabrizia
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lattanzio
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001823:Body Composition / Q000502:physiology*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005684:Gait / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D009752:Nutritional Status; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
keywords: COPD; ageing; body fat; gait speed; indicators; older people