Obesity in patients with COPD, an undervalued problem?
- 1Department of Primary and Community Care, Centre for Family Medicine, Geriatric Care and Public Health, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, The Netherlands
- 2Diagnostic Centre Breda SHL, The Netherlands
- Ms L van den Bemt, Department of Primary and Community Care, Centre for Family Medicine, Geriatric Care and Public Health, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; l.vandenbemt{at}hag.umcn.nl
- Accepted 18 January 2009
Franssen et al reported potential links between obesity and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).1 In their review, the authors use obesity prevalence estimates for COPD patient populations from only two studies with a relatively small sample sizes.2 3 Therefore, in our view, whether or not obesity is actually more prevalent in patients with COPD is still a matter of debate. Moreover, the current evidence of a possible association between obesity and a worse COPD disease state is inconclusive. This information is crucial before considering any potential underlying mechanisms of this presumed association.
In order to contribute to the discussion on the role of obesity …
