BMC Pulmonary Medicine (Mar 2022)

Association between obesity-related dyspnea in daily living, lung function and body composition analyzed by DXA: a prospective study of 130 patients

  • Jean Hagenburg,
  • Eric Bertin,
  • Jean-Hugues Salmon,
  • Aurore Thierry,
  • Jeanne-Marie Perotin,
  • Valérian Dormoy,
  • Sandra Dury,
  • Isabelle Gaubil,
  • Lois Bolko,
  • François Lebargy,
  • Gaëtan Deslee,
  • Claire Launois

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12890-022-01884-5
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 22, no. 1
pp. 1 – 11

Abstract

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Abstract Background Obesity is a risk factor for dyspnea. However, investigations of daily living obesity-related dyspnea are limited and its mechanisms remain unclear. We conducted a cross-sectional study to analyze the relationships between dyspnea in daily living, lung function, and body composition in patients with obesity. Methods One-hundred and thirty patients (103 women/27 men), candidate for bariatric surgery, with a mean ± SD Body Mass Index (BMI) of 44.8 ± 6.8 kg/m2 were included. Dyspnea was assessed by the modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) scale. Comorbidities, laboratory parameters, pulmonary function tests, arterial blood gases, six-minute walk test (6MWT), handgrip strength, and DXA body composition were analyzed. Results Thirty-one percent of patients exhibited disabling dyspnea in daily living (mMRC ≥ 2). Compared with patients without disabling dyspnea (mMRC < 2), significant dyspnea (mMRC ≥ 2) was associated with a lower 6MWT distance (395 ± 103 m vs 457 ± 73 m, p < 0.001), lower lung volumes including Expiratory Reserve Volume (42 ± 28% vs 54 ± 27%, p = 0.024), Vital Capacity (95 ± 14 vs 106 ± 15%, p < 0.001) and Forced expiratory volume in one second (95 ± 13 vs 105 ± 15%, p = 0.002), a higher BMI (48.2 ± 7.7 vs 43.2 ± 5.7 kg/m2, p = 0.001) and a higher percentage of fat mass in the trunk (46 ± 5 vs 44 ± 5 p = 0.012) and android region (52 ± 4 vs 51 ± 4%, p = 0.024). There was no difference regarding comorbidities (except hypertension), laboratory parameters, and sarcopenia markers between patients with (mMRC ≥ 2) and without (mMRC < 2) disabling dyspnea. Conclusion Dyspnea in patients with obesity is associated with a reduction in lung volumes and a higher percentage of fat mass in central body regions. How dyspnea and body composition may change with interventions like physical activity or bariatric surgery remains to be investigated.

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