Prevalence of Sarcopenic Obesity in COPD

Overview

The goal of this observational study is to the purpose is to apply of ESPEN/EASO criteria for the diagnosis of sarcopenic obesity and calculation of OS prevalence in a sample of COPD patients. In addition, this study want to evaluate the impact of sarcopenic obesity on the respiratory function of COPD patients and the degree of severity of respiratory disease, assessed by spirometric examination; diaphragm thickness and excursion, by ultrasonographic study; performance, assessed by six-minute walk test (6-MWT); quality of life and degree of dyspnea (mMRC, Barthel dyspnea, S. George Respiratory Questionnaire); compliance and outcomes at the end of the respiratory rehabilitation course. Comparison with normal-weight patients with and without sarcopenia will help to better understand the clinical impact of sarcopenic obesity in this category of patients.

From the review of the literature, there is a wide interest on both excess and deficient malnutrition in COPD patients, and more and more interest is being paid to sarcopenic obesity, which is a clinico-functional condition characterized by the coexisting presence of obesity, characterized by excess fat mass (FM), and sarcopenia, defined as reduced muscle mass and reduced function. In the literature, there is no unambiguity on the diagnosis of sarcopenic obesity in terms of diagnostic criteria and cut-offs. Only recently, in 2022, have criteria for the diagnosis of sarcopenic obesity been defined through ESPEN/EASO consensus \[Donini et al, 2022\], shared by the international scientific community (Sarcopenic Obesity Global Leadership Initiative (SOGLI)). The prevalence of sarcopenia in COPD patients is estimated to be 27% (He et al, 2023).Specifically, on the Italian population, at present it is known that the prevalence of sarcopenia in COPD is 24% (De Blasio et al, 2018), and that the prevalence of sarcopenia in obese individuals in the general population is 20 percent (Poggiogalle et al, 2026) but there are no recent studies showing what is the prevalence of sarcopenic obesity (diagnosed with ESPEN/EASO criteria) in COPD subjects in the Italian population. This study aims to apply ESPEN/EASO criteria to identify obese sarcopenic patients and calculate the prevalence of sarcopenic obesity in COPD patients. Finally, with this work, the investigators aim to study the impact of sarcopenic obesity on respiratory function (using both spirometric and ultrasonographic parameters to study the diaphragm), performance, degree of dyspnea, and thus quality of life in COPD patients, emphasizing the importance of early diagnosis in individuals with sarcopenic obesity in order to be able to intervene through targeted nutritional strategies to treat patients with chronic conditions, such as COPD, that significantly impact quality of life and health status.