Skin condition and its relationship to systemic inflammation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Sebastian Majewski,1,2 Anna Pietrzak,3 Damian Tworek,4 Karolina Szewczyk,5 Anna Kumor-Kisielewska,1 Zofia Kurmanowska,5 Paweł Górski,1,2 Anna Zalewska-Janowska,3,* Wojciech Jerzy Piotrowski1,2,* 1Department of Pneumology and Allergy, Medical University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland; 2Healthy Ageing Research Centre (HARC), Lodz, Poland; 3Department of Psychodermatology, Medical University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland; 4Department of General and Oncological Pulmonology, Medical University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland; 5Department of Molecular Bases of Medicine, Medical University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland *These authors contributed equally to this work Background: The systemic (extrapulmonary) effects and comorbidities of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) contribute substantially to its burden. The supposed link between COPD and its systemic effects on distal organs could be due to the low-grade systemic inflammation. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the systemic inflammation may influence the skin condition in COPD patients. Materials and methods: Forty patients with confirmed diagnosis of COPD and a control group consisting of 30 healthy smokers and 20 healthy never-smokers were studied. Transepidermal water loss, stratum corneum hydration, skin sebum content, melanin index, erythema index, and skin temperature were measured with worldwide-acknowledged biophysical measuring methods at the volar forearm of all participants using a multifunctional skin physiology monitor. Biomarkers of systemic inflammation, including high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), were measured in serum using commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Results: There were significant differences between COPD patients and healthy never-smokers in skin temperature, melanin index, sebum content, and hydration level (P