Sarcopenia in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Evaluation of Raw Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis Data

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with extrapulmonary comorbidities related to alterations in the amount and function of muscle mass, such as sarcopenia. However, there is a paucity of studies that use the diagnostic criteria for sarcopenia proposed by the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in the Elderly (EWGSOP, is the acronym in English) in this condition. This group has supported the use of Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) as a technique to estimate muscle mass. On the other hand, some authors have suggested that raw BIA data such as the impedance ratio (IR) 250 kHz/5 kHz and the phase angle (PA) obtained from this technique could be indicators of sarcopenia. Few studies have explored the use of these variables in patients with COPD. The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of sarcopenia in these patients according to the EWGSOP criteria and to compare the IR and PA in patients with and without sarcopenia. The results showed that 50% of the patients were diagnosed with sarcopenia. This condition was related to the degrees of severity of COPD. IR and PA were not different in patients with COPD with and without sarcopenia. BIA is a useful tool for the comprehensive evaluation of COPD patients, however, the IR and PA variables in this study were not indicators of sarcopenia in these patients.