Atherosclerosis risk assessment in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a case-control study

Himanshu Sharma,1 Prem Kapur,2 Rajinder K Jalali,3 Kiran Dubey11Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi 110062, India; 2Department of Medicine, Hamdard Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (HIMSR) and HAH-Centenary Hospital, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi, India; 3Sushant Lok Phase-1, Gurgaon, Haryana 122001, IndiaCorrespondence: Kiran DubeyDepartment of Pharmacology, School of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi 110062, IndiaTel +91 981 059 0843Email kirandubey@gmail.comPurpose: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is considered as a risk factor for atherosclerosis and a leading cause of mortality due to cardiovascular disease (CVD). The study assessed the association of COPD with atherosclerotic risk factors and compared the predictor role of various cardiovascular (CV) risk score calculators in Indian subjects with COPD.Patients and methods: Forty subjects with stable COPD and forty age, gender and body mass index (BMI)-matched healthy controls were included in the case-control study conducted in a tertiary care hospital. Atherogenic indices were calculated by using the values of lipid parameters. CV risk calculators were utilized to assess the 10-year CV risk for the COPD group.Results: The study subjects had a mean age of 60.83±12.40 years in COPD group and 57.73±9.49 years in control group (p=0.213). Gender distribution was similar in both the groups. The mean High sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels were 3.70±2.37 mg/L in COPD group and 2.39±2.23 mg/L in control group. The hs-CRP levels were significantly higher in COPD than in control subjects (p=0.012). Using bivariate correlations, we found significant positive correlations between hs-CRP and atherogenesis indices-atherogenic index of plasma, cardiogenic risk ratio, atherogenic coefficient in COPD patients [(r=0.4265, p