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
. 2019 Jan:146:36-41.
doi: 10.1016/j.rmed.2018.11.014. Epub 2018 Nov 20.

Airway wall thickening on CT: Relation to smoking status and severity of COPD

Jean-Paul Charbonnier  1 , Esther Pompe  2 , Camille Moore  3 , Stephen Humphries  4 , Bram van Ginneken  5 , Barry Make  6 , Elizabeth Regan  6 , James D Crapo  6 , Eva M van Rikxoort  7 , David A Lynch  4 ; COPDGene investigators
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Airway wall thickening on CT: Relation to smoking status and severity of COPD

Jean-Paul Charbonnier et al. Respir Med. 2019 Jan.

Abstract

Airway wall thickening in cigarette smokers is thought to be a result of inflammatory changes and airway remodeling. This study investigates if CT-derived airway wall thickening associates to disease severity in smokers with and without COPD and if airway wall thickening is reversible by smoking cessation. We examined 2000 smokers and 46 never-smokers who returned for a 5-year follow-up visit in the COPDGene-study. Multivariable regression analyses were performed at visit 1 to associate airway wall thickness (expressed as Pi10) with percent predicted forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1%-predicted), 6-min walking distance (6MWD), and St. George Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ). Longitudinal analyses were performed to assess the effect of smoking cessation on Pi10 using linear mixed models. A higher Pi10 was significantly associated with worse FEV1%-predicted, 6MWD, and SGRQ in all GOLD-stages. Longitudinal analyses showed that subjects that quit smoking significantly decreased in Pi10 (ΔPi10 = -0.18 mm, p < 0.001). Subjects that started smoking had a significant increase in Pi10 (ΔPi10 = 0.14 mm, p < 0.001). Pi10 is a clinically relevant biomarker of smoking-related airway injury in smokers with and without COPD. The change in Pi10 with change in smoking status suggests that it can quantify a reversible component of smoking-related airway inflammation.

Keywords: Airway wall inflammation; Computed tomography; Quality of life; Smoking cessation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
FEVl%-predicted, 6MWD, and SGRQ for subjects stratified by the lower and upper Pil0 quartile. Error bars indicate the standard deviation. Significance is indicated for differences between the Pil0 quartiles. *p<0.05. **p<0.001.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Estimated longitudinal change in Pil0 stratified by change in smoking status. Pil0 change is the estimated change in Pil0 that is adjusted for gender, age, BMI, pack years, TLC, BDR, smoking status, and LAA%−950 at both visits using a linear mixed model. Whiskers of each bar indicate the 95% confidence interval. *p<0.05. **p<0.001.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. METS OM, BUCKENS CFM, ZANEN P, ISGUM I, VAN GINNEKEN B, PROKOP M, GIETEMA HA, LAMMERS JJ, VLIEGENTHART R, OUDKERK M, VAN KLAVEREN RJ, DE KONING HJ, MALI WPTM, DE JONG PA. IDENTIFICATION OF CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE IN LUNG CANCER SCREENING COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHIC SCANS. JAMA 2011; 306: 1775–1781 - PubMed
    1. DRANSFIELD MT, KUNISAKI KM, STRAND MJ, ANZUETO A, BHATT SP, BOWLER RP, CRINER GJ, CURTIS JL, HANANIA NA, NATH H, PUTCHA N, ROARK SE, WAN ES, WASHKO GR, WELLS JM, WENDT CH, MAKE BJ. ACUTE EXACERBATIONS AND LUNG FUNCTION LOSS IN SMOKERS WITH AND WITHOUT COPD. AM J RESPIR CRIT CARE MED 2017; 195: 324–330. - PMC - PubMed
    1. METS OM, SCHMIDT M, BUCKENS CFM, GONDRIE MJ, ISGUM I, OUDKERK M, VLIEGENTHART R, DE KONING HJ, VAN DER AALST CM, PROKOP M, LAMMERS JW, ZANEN P, MOHAMED HOESEIN FAA MALI WPTM, VAN GINNEKEN B, VAN RIKXOORT EM, DE JONG PA. DIAGNOSIS OF CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE IN LUNG CANCER SCREENING COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY SCANS: INDEPENDENT CONTRIBUTION OF EMPHYSEMA, AIR TRAPPING AND BRONCHIAL WALL THICKENING. RESPIR RES 2013; 14: 59. - PMC - PubMed
    1. LUTEY BA, CONRADI SH, ATKINSON JJ, ZHENG J, SCHECHTMAN KB, SENIOR RM, GIERADA DS. ACCURATE MEASUREMENT OF SMALL AIRWAYS ON LOW-DOSE THORACIC CT SCANS IN SMOKERS. CHEST 2013; 143:1321–1329. - PMC - PubMed
    1. SASAKI T, TAKAHASHI K, TAKADA N, OHSAKI Y. RATIOS OF PERIPHERAL-TO-CENTRAL AIRWAY LUMEN AREA AND PERCENTAGE WALL AREA AS PREDICTORS OF SEVERITY OF CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE. AJR AMJ ROENTGENOL 2014; 203: 78–84 - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms