Table 2– Muscle fibre morphological characteristics of non-cachectic and cachectic chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients at baseline
Non-cachecticCachectic
Subjects n1910
Muscle fibre %
 Type I32.0±3.233.6±2.9
 Type II67.5±3.365.9±3.0
 Type IIa52.3±3.750.4±6.5
 Type IIb15.2±2.215.5±3.6
Mean muscle fibre cross sectional area4509±1983872±258*
Cross sectional area μm2
 Type I4716±2714717±215
 Type IIa4507±2473695±337*
 Type IIb3649±2082872±250*
Capillary/fibre ratio1.41±0.101.44±0.10

  • Data are presented as mean±sem, unless otherwise stated. *: p<0.05 compared with non-cachectic at (unpaired t-test).