Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2002 Jul 5:2:12.
doi: 10.1186/1471-2334-2-12.

Smoking, season, and detection of Chlamydia pneumoniae DNA in clinically stable COPD patients

Marek Smieja  1 , Richard Leigh, Astrid Petrich, Sylvia Chong, Dennis Kamada, Frederick E Hargreave, Charles H Goldsmith, Max Chernesky, James B Mahony
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Smoking, season, and detection of Chlamydia pneumoniae DNA in clinically stable COPD patients

Marek Smieja et al. BMC Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Background: The prevalence and role of Chlamydia pneumoniae in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) remain unclear, and molecular methods of detection may help clarify this relationship.

Methods: Consecutive clinically stable patients with smoking-related COPD attending a tertiary care outpatient clinic were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were obtained from 100 patients, and induced sputum was obtained in 62 patients. C. pneumoniae DNA was detected in blood or sputum by nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

Results: Patients had mean age (standard deviation) of 65.8 (10.7) years, mean forced expiratory volume in one second (SD) of 1.34 (0.61) L, and 61 (61.0%) were male. C. pneumoniae nucleic acids were detected in 27 (27.0%) patients. Among 62 patients with both blood and sputum available, blood specimens were superior to induced sputum for detection of C. pneumoniae DNA (21 versus 7 detected, P=0.003). Current smoking (odds ratio [OR]=2.6, 95 % confidence interval [CI]: 1.1, 6.6, P=0.04), season (November to April) (OR=3.6, 95% CI: 1.4, 9.2, P=0.007), and chronic sputum production (OR=6.4, 95% CI: 1.8, 23.2, P=0.005) were associated with detection of C. pneumoniae DNA.

Conclusions: C. pneumoniae DNA prevalence was higher among current smokers, and during winter/spring months. Prospective molecular studies are needed to examine the role of C. pneumoniae detection in COPD disease symptoms and progression.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Relation of Chlamydia pneumoniae (CP) DNA prevalence in blood peripheral mononuclear cells versus month of study visit among 100 patients presenting to a respirology referral clinic. CP-DNA positive (solid), CP-DNA negative (thatched) or proportion of all monthly specimens which were CP-DNA positive (line).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Relation of Chlamydia pneumoniae DNA prevalence in blood or sputum versus plasma nicotine metabolite levels among 73 patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Nicotine metabolites of < 25 μg/L indicate no recent exposure to smoking. For nicotine metabolites = 25 μg/L, odds ratio = 2.1 (95% CI: 0.8, 5.7, P = 0.13) for detection of C. pneumoniae DNA (SPSS).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Barnes PJ. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. N Engl J Med. 2000;343:269–280. doi: 10.1056/NEJM200007273430407. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Murray CJ, Lopez AD. Alternative projections of mortality and disability by cause 1990–2020: Global Burden of Disease Study. Lancet. 1997;349:1498–1504. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(96)07492-2. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Sethi JM, Rochester CL. Smoking and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Clin Chest Med. 2000;21:67–86. - PubMed
    1. Thom DH, Grayston JT, Campbell LA, Kuo CC, Diwan VK, Wang SP. Respiratory infection with Chlamydia pneumoniae in middle-aged and older adult outpatients. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis. 1994;13:785–792. - PubMed
    1. Blasi F, Legnani D, Lombardo VM, Negretto GG, Magliano E, Pozzoli R, et al. Chlamydia pneumoniae infection in acute exacerbations of COPD. Eur Respir J. 1993;6:19–22. - PubMed

Publication types