Baseline characteristics of the study groups
| Controls | COPD patients | ||
| Sarcopaenic | Underweight | ||
| Subjects n | 7 | 7 | 6 |
| Age yrs | 64±2 | 64±4 | 70±4 |
| Body composition | |||
| Height cm | 173.7±2.2 | 172.9±1.9 | 168.1±1.5# |
| Weight kg | 85.5±5.6 | 82.5±3.5 | 58.2±2.1###,** |
| BMI kg·m−2 | 28.2±1.2 | 27.5±0.9 | 20.6±0.7###,*** |
| FFM kg | 62.6±2.7 | 56.1±2.4¶ | 45.3±1.5###,** |
| FFMI kg·m−2 | 20.7±0.5 | 18.8±0.8# | 16.0±0.4###,* |
| FM kg | 22.9±3.3 | 26.4±2.9 | 12.9±0.8#,** |
| FMI kg·m−2 | 7.5±0.9 | 8.8±0.9 | 4.6±0.3#,** |
| Pulmonary function | |||
| FEV1 % pred | 105±4 | 53±5### | 51±5### |
| FEV1/FVC % | 73.0±1.8 | 43.0±1.9### | 34.4±4.6### |
| DL,CO % pred | 117±5 | 62±7### | 62±4### |
| RV/TLC % | 36.3±1.6 | 43.2±3.5 | 51.0±10.0 |
| Pa,O2 kPa | 8.5±7.4 | 8.5±7.8 | |
| Pa,CO2 kPa | 5.1±0.2 | 5.1±0.1 | |
| Exercise capacity | |||
| Peak workload % pred | 129±9 | 48±5### | 44±4### |
| V’O2,max % pred | 110±6 | 62±5### | 57±3### |
Data are presented as mean±sem. COPD: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; BMI: body mass index; FFM: fat-free mass (assessed by bioelectrical impedance analysis); FFMI: FFM index; FM: fat mass; FMI: FM index; FEV1: forced expiratory volume in one second; % pred: % predicted; FVC: forced vital capacity; DL,CO: diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide; RV: residual volume; TLC: total lung capacity; Pa,O2: arterial oxygen tension; Pa,CO2: arterial carbon dioxide tension; V’O2,max: maximal oxygen consumption. *: p<0.05; **: p<0.01; ***: p<0.001 versus sarcopaenic patients. #: p<0.05; ###: p<0.001; ¶: p = 0.06 versus controls.