P126 Female COPD patients have a greater prevalence of a low muscle mass and weaker quadriceps muscles than male patients

Introduction We recently reported that, in a cohort of 114 COPD patients, females had lower quadriceps strength and smaller type II muscle fibres than males, even after accounting for normal gender differences in health (Sharanya et al, 2019). Given the association of muscle dysfunction with impaired exercise capacity and mortality in COPD, we sought to confirm this finding in a larger, distinct cohort. Methods Lung function, body composition (assessed using bioelectrical impedance) and quadriceps maximal voluntary contraction force (QMVC) measurements from 360 COPD patients (120F, 240M) from the COPD-MAP cohort were analysed. Patients were designated as having a low body mass index (BMI) using the WHO threshold of Results Females and males were matched for GOLD stage; however, females had slightly less severe airflow obstruction than males (see Table 1). Despite this, and that similar proportions of females and males had a low BMI, females had a greater prevalence of a low FFMI. Furthermore, females had lower quadriceps strength than males; this could not be explained solely by muscle atrophy as their lower muscle mass was corrected for in calculation of the predicted values. The proportion of female patients with a QMVC/BMI ratio of Conclusions Female COPD patients have a higher prevalence of a low muscle mass than males. Furthermore, females have weaker quadriceps muscles than males, even after accounting for expected gender differences and for their lower muscle mass. Study of why female patients are weaker is required. The data also argues for female COPD patients to be monitored especially closely for these complications in the clinic.