Osteoporosis increases mortality risk in patients with bronchiectasis: BMC

A recent study published in the BMC Pulmonary Medicine found that osteoporosis in non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis (NCFB) patients increase complications and mortality risk. And so, osteoporosis management should be taken into consideration in NCFB patients who are hospitalized.

Bronchiectasis, where the airways in the lungs become damaged and widened, can lead to several respiratory problems. One of the comorbidities associated with bronchiectasis is osteoporosis which impacts the mortality rate in patients by making the bones fragile and brittle. A study was conducted by Xin Zou and peers to explore the risk factors for osteoporosis and its impact on mortality in hospitalized NCFB) patients in Southeast China.

The highlights of the study were:

179 hospitalized NCFB patients were enrolled and assessed for osteoporosis risk and its impact on all-cause mortality.

21.2% of the patients were diagnosed with osteoporosis. Patients with osteoporosis had more severe symptoms, poorer quality of life, more severe disease stage, and more comorbidities compared to patients without osteoporosis.

Age, female sex, anemia, post-infection, and history of regular inhaled corticosteroid treatment were found to be independent risk factors for osteoporosis.

The all-cause mortality rate was significantly higher in non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis (NCFB) patients with osteoporosis (28.94%) compared to those without osteoporosis (7.09%). After adjusting for other confounding factors, osteoporosis was found to be independently associated with all-cause mortality in hospitalized non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis (NCFB) patients.

This study highlights the importance of managing comorbidities, including bone health, in treating non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis (NCFB) patients. Further studies are needed to better understand the underlying mechanisms and to develop effective strategies for preventing and treating osteoporosis in NCFB patients.

Source:

Zou, X., Ma, Z., Liu, X., Zhang, K., Qiu, C., Liang, R., Weng, D., Xie, L., Cao, X., Wu, Y., & Wen, L. (2023). Risk factors and prognostic value of osteoporosis in hospitalized patients with bronchiectasis. In BMC Pulmonary Medicine (Vol. 23, Issue 1). Springer Science and Business Media LLC. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12890-023-02346-2