Continuous fat-free mass decline in COPD: fact or fiction?

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) generally have lower fat-free mass (a surrogate marker of skeletal muscle mass) compared with their healthy peers [1, 2], and this is associated with decreased functional capacity [3], the presence of other comorbidities ( e.g. osteoporosis and renal impairment) [4] and increased mortality risk [5]. To date, longitudinal observational studies have shown no difference in the mean decline...