A gender difference in circulating neutrophils in malnourished patients with COPD

• Main Authors: Sven Larsson, Anita Nordenson, Pernilla Glader, et al
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dove Medical Press 2011-01-01
• Series: International Journal of COPD
• Online Access: http://www.dovepress.com/a-gender-difference-in-circulating-neutrophils-in-malnourished-patient-a6071

Sven Larsson1, Anita Nordenson1, Pernilla Glader1, Shigemi Yoshihara2, Anders Lindén1, Frode Slinde31Department of Internal Medicine/Respiratory Medicine and Allergology, Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden; 2Department of Pediatrics, Dokkyo Medical University, Tochigi, Japan; 3Department of Clinical Nutrition, Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, SwedenBackground: Circulating markers of inflammation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) may correlate to disease progression and extrapulmonary complications such as malnourishment. However, surprisingly little is known about gender-related differences for circulating inflammatory markers in COPD.Purpose: To characterize differences in circulating markers of inflammation in malnourished female and male patients with COPD.Subjects: Thirty female and 11 male patients with a clinical diagnosis of COPD and malnourishment were examined. A group of control subjects without evidence of COPD was recruited for comparison of some variables.Methods: Blood samples were drawn, and the following parameters were studied: leukocytes and differential counts, C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8, myeloperoxidase (MPO), neutrophil elastase (NE), intracellular adhesion molecule-1, vascular endothelial adhesion molecule-1, and E-selectin.Results: The mean neutrophil concentration was significantly (P = 0.019) higher in female (4.5 × 109/L) than in male patients with COPD (3.5 × 109/L) and significantly higher than in female control subjects (3.1 × 109/L) (P , 0.01, n = 85). The mean CRP values were considerably higher in female (4.9 mg/mL) than in male patients with COPD (1.5 mg/mL), but the difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.20). The mean concentrations of IL-6 and IL-8 tended to be higher in female than in male patients with COPD, but these differences did not reach statistical significance either (P . 0.05). Confounding factors (smoking, medication) could not explain the gender differences noted. The concentrations of MPO and NE displayed a strong correlation (r = 0.89; P , 0.01, n = 41) but revealed no gender differences. The latter was true for concentrations of adhesion molecules as well.Conclusions: Our study puts forward evidence of a gender-related difference in systemic inflammation in malnourished patients with COPD in terms of circulating neutrophils being more abundant in female patients. Among these female patients, there was also a trend toward an increase in two neutrophil-mobilizing cytokines. New and better-powered studies are warranted to confirm and characterize this potentially important phenomenon in greater detail.Keywords: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, inflammatory markers, leukocytosis, malnutrition