Osteoporosis is one of the major extra-pulmonary manifestations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which limits the physical activity. The present study was undertaken to study the bone mineral density (BMD) and osteoporosis in the elderly COPD patients.
This was a cross-sectional study carried out among elderly COPD patients. After a detailed clinical history spirometry was done to stage the severity of COPD. DEXA scan of the lumbar spine was performed using bone densitometer to determine osteoporosis. Statistical analysis was based on Chi-square test. Risk factors were identified by univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis.
A total of 70 elderly COPD patients were included. Fourty-six patients (65.7%) had osteoporosis and 13 (18.6%) had osteopenia. Majority of the osteoporosis patients had stage III or stage IV COPD disease (77.2%). As the severity grade of COPD increased, the risk of osteoporosis also increased. Also, with the increasing severity of COPD, BMD decreased. Patients with lower body mass index (BMI) had higher prevalence of osteoporosis (45.7%). Using multivariate regression analysis, stage IV COPD, number of acute exacerbations >3 and steroid cumulative dose >1000 mg were independent risk factors for osteoporosis in elderly COPD patients.