ABSTRACT

Weight loss is common in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

(COPD). Reported prevalence rates range from 20% in clinically stable outpatients

(1) up to 50% in patients with acute respiratory failure (ARF) (2). Involuntary weight

loss and, in particular, loss of fat-free mass (FFM), as an indirect measure of muscle

mass, have many adverse clinical consequences. Independently of lung function,

they have been associated with impaired exercise performance (3) and weakening of

peripheral skeletal muscles (1) and respiratory muscles (4). Moreover, fat-free mass-

depleted patients have worse scores on quality-of-life questionnaires compared to

nondepleted patients (5, 6). Furthermore, loss of body mass is associated with

increased mortality (7-9).