ABSTRACT
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is mainly expressed by weight loss with especially fat-free mass (FFM) depletion and a low body weight correlates with increased mortality and a poor prognosis. We investigated whether anthropometric body composition equations could be used for evaluation of the body composition in COPD. Thirty clinically stable patients with COPD and 13 healthy age matched control subjects underwent the skinfolds and circumference measurements in addition to body mass index (BMI) calculations. Body fat mass (BFM) and FFM were determined by using anthropometric equations. The percent BFM, predicted from body density either using Siri's or Brozek's equations was determined lower than that of calculated with equations by using BMI, age and gender. The values of BFM and body weight were reduced in patients with FEV1 < % predicted compared to other participants. The FFM values also dropped depending on the severity of COPD. BMI was not statistically different among the participants while FFM index (FFMI) reflected the nutritional status of the disorders. Anthropometric equations easily and cost effectively applied for prediction of % BFM, FFM, and FFMI in patients with COPD. In addition, the FFMI can be possibly used for expressing COPD severity.
Subject(s)
Anthropometry , Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive/pathology , Female , Humans , Male , Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive/physiopathologyABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Blood transfusion therapy for Thalassaemia patients may cause transmission of some infectious agents to the recipients. As Toxoplasma gondii is a transfusion-transmitted parasite, we aimed to investigate anti-Toxoplasma antibodies. METHODS: We arranged two groups: patients and controls. There were 36 Thalassaemia cases in the patient group. The control group also included 36 healthy people (of the same ages and gender) who were selected by the one-to-one mapping method. Mean age was 18.1 ± 8.3 (4-35). Toxoplasma gondii IgG and IgM antibodies were analyzed by the Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbant Assay (ELISA). RESULTS: We determined parasite-specific Toxoplasma gondii IgG antibodies in 7 (19.4%) and borderline levels of IgM antibody in 2 Thalassaemia major cases (5.5%). In the control group, parasite-specific IgG antibody was found in 5 cases (14%). Serum samples of patients with borderline levels were analyzed with an avidity test and were found to have high avidity. There were no significant differences between patient and control groups when considering the presence of anti-Toxoplasma IgG antibodies (p=0.752). CONCLUSION: Although there is no significant statistical difference, we suggest that blood transfusion donors should be investigated for infectious agents such as Toxoplasma gondii.
