COPD increases risk of osteoporosis
31 January 2003
People with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) risk developing osteoporosis even if they are not taking corticosteroids, a US study has shown.
(COPD is a long-term, progressive disease of the lungs that causes wheezing, coughing and difficulty breathing. It usually occurs after years of smoking. Osteoporosis is a thinning and weakening of the bones seen most commonly in older people, especially women. It leads to bones breaking more easily.)
This finding prompted the researchers to recommend screening for osteoporosis in people with moderate to severe airflow obstruction, and treating those with low bone mineral density (American Journal of Medicine 2003; 114: 10-14).
As the risk of osteoporosis was increased even in people with COPD not taking corticosteroids, the researchers said mechanisms that may possibly be involved included reduced physical activity, poor nutrition and nutritional deficiencies, low body mass index, tobacco use, decreased exposure to sunlight and hypercatabolic effects of inflammatory processes.
(Body mass index (BMI) is your weight in kg divided by your height in metres squared. People who are underweight will have a low BMI. Hypercatabolic effects result from high cellular activity in an area of the body and can lead to excess breakdown of body tissues, which may show up as weight loss and wasting.)
Data from 9502 people showed the risk of osteoporosis was nearly doubled in people with COPD, and that the risk increased in line with the severity of airflow limitation.
People with severe COPD had 2.5 times the risk of developing osteoporosis compared with people without airflow obstruction. Moderate but not mild COPD was also associated with an increased risk of osteoporosis.
Age, body mass index, activity and medication use — including recent use of corticosteroids — did not affect the results.
Last Reviewed: 30 January 2003
- 1. Medical Observer Weekly 31/01/03
