COPD related to obesity in older women who have never smoked

A study conducted by researchers at the University of Toronto found that chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is much more prevalent among older women who do not smoke (aged 50 or older) and those who do not smoke. are not. the normal weight range.

Egor_Kulinich | Shutterstock

The prevalence of COPD was also significantly higher among older men with morbid obesity and never smoked, compared to their normal weight peers.

COPD, the third leading cause of death in the United States, refers to a group of progressive lung disorders that cause respiratory problems.

Although smoking is the best-known risk factor for the disease, a quarter of people with COPD have never smoked.

The study's author, Senyo Agbeyaka, said that, surprisingly, little research has been conducted on patients with COPD who have never smoked:

We wanted to fill this gap in the literature by examining factors associated with COPD in never-smokers aged 50 and older. "

Senyo Agbeyaka, author of the study

As reported in Diary of obesity, lead author Esme Fuller-Thomson and colleagues, studied a nationally representative sample of non-Hispanic whites using data available in the Center for Disease Control's 2012 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.

They evaluated data from more than 110,000 people who said they had never smoked.

About 4,000 of the respondents were morbidly obese and 5,000 reported being diagnosed with COPD.

The researchers found that the proportion of older women who had never smoked and had COPD was 13.4% among morbidly obese women (BMI ≥ 40), compared with only 3.5% among their normal-weight peers. For men, the corresponding figures were 7.6% against 2.5%.

Co-author, Kaitlyn Howden, said that, unfortunately, the survey did not allow the team to identify why COPD was so prevalent among obese respondents compared to at a normal weight.

Future research is needed to investigate the plausible mechanisms of this association, including the role of chronic inflammation associated with obesity and the impact of central obesity on the mechanics of the respiratory system . "

Kaitlyn Howden, Co-author

Fuller-Thomson adds that the findings reported here highlight the importance for healthcare professionals to screen for COPD in older obese patients, even in the absence of smoking history.