Metabolic syndrome in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Background Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a rising medical problem worldwide. It predisposes to the development of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, but its definite prevalence in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) remains unclear. Objective This is a case-control study aiming at determining the frequency of MetS among patients with COPD in comparison with non-COPD subjects and detecting the relationship between MetS and worsening of COPD stages. Patients and methods MetS was diagnosed according to the Revised National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III. The study included 430 patients with stable COPD (397 males and 33 females) in all GOLD stages of severity (except GOLD I) and 1149 nonsmoker controls (586 males and 563 females). All participants underwent demographic data recording, history taking, thorough clinical examination, smoking status assessment, measurement of waist circumference, arterial blood pressure, serum fasting blood glucose, serum high-density lipoprotein, and serum triglyceride levels, in addition to spirometric assessment. Results MetS was diagnosed in 179 (41.6%) patients with COPD vs 364 (31.7%) controls. No significant differences were noted in the frequency of MetS in different stages of COPD severity (GOLD II 39.2%, GOLD III 43.9% and GOLD IV 43%). Patients with COPD were 1.5 times more likely to have MetS than controls. Dyslipidemia, obesity, and hypertension were the most frequent three parameters of MetS in both controls (38, 31, and 28%, respectively), and patients with COPD (57, 36, and 34%, respectively), whereas the three most frequent combined components of MetS in patients with COPD were obesity, low high-density lipoprotein, and high triglyceride (32%). Conclusion MetS is more frequent among patients with COPD compared with controls.