Obesity And COPD Case Study
Obesity and COPD are chronic health conditions with an increasing incidence globally. They are the major causes for increasing morbidity and mortality. COPD is diagnosed with the use of spirometry and BMI is used for the diagnosis of obesity (1). In the United States, 6% of adults have Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and 35% are obese (2). There are cases present where patients have comorbid COPD and obesity. Pulmonary issues are associated with obesity, some of which include a decrease in FEV1, Asthma, as well as sleep apnea (2). The abnormalities associated in patients with eucapnic obesity is decrease in ventilator muscle strength, reduction in lung compliance and chest wall, as well as increase work of breathing and expiratory
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Patients with COPD have problems with ventillatory mechanics and obesity would amplify these issues (1). Obese patients with COPD would therefore have higher ventillatory requirements as opposed to a person of normal weight, due to an “increase in chemostimulation that arises from the combination of increased metabolic loading, high fixed physiological dead space and possibly earlier earlier metabolic acidosis due to impairement of oxygen uptake from deconditiong or cardiac dysfunction” (1). Patients with central obesity have an increase in expiratory flow rates due to an increase in recoil to the lung and chest wall as compared with COPD non obese patients. Besides the limitations in ventilation, any alterations in the composition of the body is associated with exercise intolerance in COPD patients. Reduced exercise capacity and muscle weakness are due to loss of FFM, these issues are common in people with COPD. Patients with a combination of early stage COPD, reduction in lean to fat mass ratio, and obesity were seen to have a 6 minute walk test with functional limitation. This limitation and negative impact was due to the accretion of fat mass and not so much the decrease in lean mass
Patients with COPD have problems with ventillatory mechanics and obesity would amplify these issues (1). Obese patients with COPD would therefore have higher ventillatory requirements as opposed to a person of normal weight, due to an “increase in chemostimulation that arises from the combination of increased metabolic loading, high fixed physiological dead space and possibly earlier earlier metabolic acidosis due to impairement of oxygen uptake from deconditiong or cardiac dysfunction” (1). Patients with central obesity have an increase in expiratory flow rates due to an increase in recoil to the lung and chest wall as compared with COPD non obese patients. Besides the limitations in ventilation, any alterations in the composition of the body is associated with exercise intolerance in COPD patients. Reduced exercise capacity and muscle weakness are due to loss of FFM, these issues are common in people with COPD. Patients with a combination of early stage COPD, reduction in lean to fat mass ratio, and obesity were seen to have a 6 minute walk test with functional limitation. This limitation and negative impact was due to the accretion of fat mass and not so much the decrease in lean mass