TY - JOUR T1 - Systemic inflammation in COPD: Is there a link with body composition? JF - European Respiratory Journal JO - Eur Respir J VL - 38 IS - Suppl 55 SP - p4056 AU - Adèle Lo Tam Loi AU - Susan Hoonhorst AU - Nick ten Hacken AU - Jan-Willem Lammers AU - Leo Koenderman Y1 - 2011/09/01 UR - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/38/Suppl_55/p4056.abstract N2 - Introduction: COPD is characterized by a low grade systemic inflammation which has an effect on body composition. We examined the relationship between systemic inflammation and body composition using the Body Mass Index (BMI) and Fat Free Mass Index (FFMI).Methods: A cohort of 37 stable COPD patients (GOLD I-IV) was included. BMI was calculated as weight/height2 and the FFMI as fat free mass/height2. Systemic inflammation was visualized by expression of activation markers on peripheral blood neutrophils using flow cytometry.Results: The responsiveness of neutrophils for formyl peptides (like fMLF) is one of the most sensitive markers for detecting in vivo activation of neutrophils. Peripheral blood neutrophils are less responsive for fMLF under conditions of systemic inflammation, which is associated with disease severity. This responsiveness in the context of expression of CD11b and the active form of FcγRII was positively correlated with BMI (Table 1). We also found that CCR3, a marker mainly expressed on pulmonary neutrophils correlated with BMI. In addition, a positive correlation (Table 1) between FFMI and BMI was found in COPD patients.View this table:Table 1. Indices of systemic inflammation correlate with a low BMIConclusion: A low BMI is associated with a low grade systemic inflammation in COPD patients visualized by systemic activation of neutrophils. In COPD patients the FFMI correlated with BMI, which suggests that the systemic inflammation in COPD patients is associated with a muscle wasting phenotype. ER -