Journal of physiology and pharmacology : an official journal of the Polish Physiological Society
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J. Physiol. Pharmacol. · Dec 2008
Comorbidities as an element of multidimensional prognostic assessment of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by chronic airflow limitation, some significant extrapulmonary effects, and important comorbidities. The BODE index, a multidimensional scale, has been proposed to better identify severity of the disease and to predict survival. The goal of the study was to evaluate the prevalence of concomitant diseases in patients with COPD and to assess correlations between comorbidities and the BODE index. ⋯ We also found that patients with higher BODE scores had more exacerbations of COPD. Comorbidities are very common in COPD. Results indicate a close connection between the BODE index and some comorbidities, which suggests that these conditions may aggravate the COPD course and increase risk of mortality.
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J. Physiol. Pharmacol. · Dec 2008
The influence of obesity on sleep quality in male sleep apnea patients before and during therapy.
Evidence exists that obesity, even in the absence of sleep related respiratory disorders, affects sleep negatively. In this study we examined the influence of obesity on sleep quality of male sleep apnea patients before and after breathing normalization with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). We compared the polysomnography from the diagnostic night, second night with CPAP, and a control night (three months later) in 13 non-obese, 13 obese, and 12 severely obese male obstructive sleep apnea patients. ⋯ In the second night under CPAP, normalization of the AHI and a rebound of REM and SWS occurred, which was more pronounced in severely obese than in the non-obese and obese group. The polysomnography recorded three months thereafter revealed no differences in sleep stages between the groups. We conclude that after the long-term CPAP therapy, no effect of obesity on sleep quality is apparent.