Volume 1, Number 3, June 2007

Optimising nutrition in COPD
Carol Kelly

Although principally an inflammatory respiratory disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is now recognised as a complex disorder that also manifests in extrapulmonary and systemic effects. Nutritional manifestations of the disease, notably weight loss and obesity, have been recognised. However, the complexity of nutritional problems in COPD has been poorly understood, and the consequences largely underrated. Now, linked to increasing knowledge regarding systemic inflammation, it is becoming clear that poor nutritional status is not only a manifestation of COPD but also a predictor of mortality and healthcare utilisation.

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