Soft tissue markers on chest CT indicate the risk for mortality among individuals with COPD, according to a study published in Radiology. Researchers examined correlations between the subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT), intermuscular adipose tissue (IMAT), and pectoralis muscle (PM) areas from chest CT with mortality in individuals with COPD in a secondary analysis of a prospectively enrolled cohort. Data were included for 2,994 participants, of whom 265 had COPD. Of those with COPD, 49 participants (18%) died during follow-up. The researchers observed moderate-to-excellent reliabilities for the SAT, IMAT, and PM areas (intraclass correlation coefficient, 0.88 to 0.99). The SAT and IMAT indexes were correlated with the fat mass index in total participants. Lower mortality risks were seen for those with COPD and a higher SAT index (hazard ratio [HR], 0.2 per doubling), whereas the risk for mortality was higher in association with a higher IMAT index (HR, 1.4 per doubling).
