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Background: Lead exposure is a resurgent environmental issue globally. Smoking can be a source of lead exposure although the majority of lead poisonings originate from workplace exposures. We attempted to investigate the blood lead levels based on COPD and smoking status and the independent association between elevated blood lead levels and clinical variables. Methods: Our data were collected from Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) IV (n= 9744 in 2008, n= 10533 in 2009), V (n = 8518 in 2011), and VI (n = 8018 in 2013). Blood lead levels were analyzed based on clinical variables. Multivariate linear regression analyses were done to find variables associated with elevated blood lead levels. Results: Blood lead levels were higher in males, older age group, smokers, COPD, lower education group, and lower income group (p Conclusion: Smoking status and education level along with old age and male gender were independently associated with higher blood lead levels, however COPD was not, suggesting higher blood lead level in COPD should be attributed to other correlated clinical factors.

Aims: Cardiovascular disease is one of the main causes of mortality for COPD and atherosclerosis is a root cause of cardiac co-morbidities in COPD. However, it is not clear whether airflow limitation is associated with atherosclerosis irrespective of smoking. Therefore, we attempted to investigate whether airflow limitation is independently associated with peripheral atherosclerosis. Methods: We enrolled 22,466 participants (male = 69.7 %, non-smoker = 44.5 %) who underwent spirometry and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) for health screening at Ajou University Hospital from January 2010 to December 2015. We defined peripheral atherosclerosis as baPWV≥1400 cm/s and airflow limitation as pre-bronchodilator ratio of FEV1 to FVC Results: Mean baPWV was higher in airflow limitation group than in control group (1477.6 ± 330.7 vs. 1350.7 ± 222.1 cm/s, p Conclusion: FEV1/FVC was an independent predictor of peripheral atherosclerosis both in smokers and non-smokers, suggesting airflow limitation is linked with atherosclerosis irrespective of smoking.

Background: In COPD, coronary artery disease (CAD) is a frequent co-morbidity and cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death. When coronary angiography was performed, the Gensini score is used for the assessment of CAD severity. This study was performed to evaluate the clinical impact of Gensini score in COPD. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 191 patients with COPD (male 90.1%, mean age 68.5 ± 8.9 years, smoker 86.2%) who had undergone coronary angiography in Ajou University Hospital from Jan 2000 to Dec 2012. The extent of CAD in the entire coronary arterial tree was assessed by Gensini score. Comparative analyses between high Gensini group (≥4 points; median value or more) and low Gensini group ( Results: High Gensini group was more frequently associated with triple vessel CAD (37.2% vs. 1.0%, p 1 (66.4 ± 16.9 vs 64. 9 ± 19.0, p=0.583) and prevalence of hypertension (59.6% vs. 57.7%, p=0.796) did not differ between two groups. High Gensini group was independently related to triple vessel CAD (OR 3.51, 95% CI 1.77 – 6.94) and myocardial infarction (OR 5.38, 95% CI 1.83 – 15.82). Conclusion: Our data suggest that high Gensini score in COPD was independently associated with cardiac co-morbidities such as triple vessel CAD and myocardial infarction.

Background: Anemia can be manifested as one of the co-morbidities developing due to chronic inflammation in COPD. Thus, anemia is considered as an important prognostic factor in COPD. Therefore, this study was performed to evaluate the effect of anemia on the prognosis of COPD and investigate factors linked with anemia in COPD. Methods: We analyzed 442 COPD patients of Korean Obstructive Lung Disease (KOLD) cohort enrolled from 16 hospitals in Korea. Anemia was determined by the reference values of hemoglobin: Results: Compared to non-anemic COPD, anemic COPD had older age, lower BMI, lower cholesterol level, lower albumin level, and shorter walk distance in six minute walk test (p Conclusions: Older age and lower serum albumin level were independent factors associated with anema in COPD. The survival period of anemic COPD was shorter.

Background: The T-helper type 1(Th1) lymphocytes is important in pathogenesis of tuberculosis. So, we evaluated for significance of interferon (IFN)-γ and IFN-inducible chemokines in pleural effusions. Methods: A total of 276 subjects were enrolled. The study population comprised 80 patients with tuberculous effusions, 68 patients with malignant effusions, 53 patients with parapneumonic effusions, 27 patients with transudates, and 48 patients with miscellaneous effusions. In serum and effusion samples from patients with pleural effusions, the levels of IFN-γ, IFN-inducible T-cell alpha chemoattractant (I-TAC) and monokine induced by IFN-γ (MIG) were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and the levels of adenosine deaminase (ADA) were measured by colorimetry. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed. Results: The levels of IFN-γ, I-TAC, MIG and ADA in the pleural effusions were significantly increased in the tuberculous effusions ( p Conclusions: All the IFN-γinducible chemokines along with and ADA showed high discriminating powers for tuberculous effusion, especially IFN-γ in effusion, and MIG in serum. Those chemokines can be useful surrogate markers in diagnosis of pleural effusion.