Published ahead of print on December 10, 2004, doi:10.1164/rccm.200412-1643OC
© 2005 American Thoracic Society doi: 10.1164/rccm.200412-1643OC
Respiratory and Skeletal Muscles in Hypogonadal Men with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary DiseaseDivision of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Edward Hines Jr. Veterans Administration Hospital; and Loyola University of Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, Hines, Illinois Correspondence and requests for reprints should be addressed to Franco Laghi, M.D., Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital, 111N 5th Avenue and Roosevelt Road, Hines, IL 60141. E-mail: flaghi{at}lumc.edu Hypogonadism, found in about one-third of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), has potential for decreasing muscle mass and muscle performance. Compared with eugonadal patients, we hypothesized that hypogonadal patients with COPD have decreased respiratory and skeletal muscle performance. Nineteen hypogonadal and 20 eugonadal men with COPD (FEV1 1.14 ± 0.08 and 1.17 ± 0.11 L [standard error], respectively) were studied. Diaphragmatic contractility, assessed as transdiaphragmatic twitch pressure generated by phrenic nerve stimulation, was similar in hypogonadal and eugonadal patients: 20.6 ± 2.2 and 19.8 ± 2.5 cm H2O, respectively. During progressive inspiratory threshold loading, hypogonadal and eugonadal patients had similar respiratory muscle endurance times (302 ± 29 and 313 ± 48 seconds, respectively) and airway pressure sustained during the last minute of loading (38.2 ± 3.0 and 40.5 ± 4.7 cm H2O, respectively) (similar to predicted values in healthy subjects). Hypogonadal and eugonadal patients had equivalent limb muscle strength and endurance. During cycle exercise to exhaustion, exercise performance, gas exchange, and respiratory muscle recruitment (estimated by esophageal and gastric pressure swings during tidal breathing) were similar in both groups. In conclusion, hypogonadism does not decrease respiratory or limb muscle performance and exercise capacity in men with moderate-to-severe COPD who, for the most part, are not underweight.
Key Words: androgens • exercise tolerance • muscle fatigue • phrenic nerve • respiratory muscles This article has been cited by other articles:
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