Study finds kidney disease biomarker may indicate COPD risk

The study reported a link between albuminuria, a condition that indicates the presence of the protein albumin in urine and COPD.

Editorial Team | Published: September 28, 2018 10:12 pm

Kidney disease COPD © Shutterstock

Recently, a team of researches have noted that a commonly used biomarker of kidney disease may also indicate lung problems, particularly chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). According to the IANS report, the study has been published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. The study reported a link between albuminuria, a condition that indicates the presence of the protein albumin in urine and COPD.

As per as the researchers, albuminuria indicates damage to the single layer of cells lining blood vessels, known as the endothelium, in the kidney.

The findings suggested that for each standard deviation increase in albuminuria, there was a 15 per cent increase in those who developed moderate-to-severe COPD. It also found a 26 % increase in COPD hospitalisations and deaths.

The co-author, Elizabeth C. Oelsner from the Columbia University, US, reportedly said that the pulmonary microvasculature is critical to gas exchange and known to be impaired in patients with COPD, especially those with emphysema. She also said that they wanted to test whether albuminuria, a non-invasive and commonly used clinical test, could serve as a marker for increased risk of developing chronic lower respiratory diseases, such as COPD and asthma.

The research team collected information from 31,877 participants for the study with an average age of 60 years from six cohort studies. They excluded participants who had been diagnosed with COPD or asthma upon enrolment in the studies.

The participants were followed for changes in lung function over a median of six years and for respiratory hospitalisations and mortality over a median of 15 years.

The team found a 3 % greater decline in FEV1 (the amount of air that can be forcibly exhaled in one second) and an 11 per cent greater decline in the ratio between FEV1 and FVC (the total amount of air that can be forcibly exhaled after taking the deepest breath possible). Both FEV1 and FEV1/FVC are important measures of lung function, the researcher said.

Even after taking into account smoking history, diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease, these associations remained significant, researchers noted.

Published: September 28, 2018 10:12 pm

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