Malnutrition and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

The article was written by Ms., Dr. Tran Thi Diem Trang, Department of Medical Examination & Internal Medicine, Vinmec Central Park International General Hospital

Nutrition is one of the necessary methods to maintain health, overcome diseases, and prolong life. For people suffering from various diseases, nutrition is also a supportive measure to help promote health and make recovery from illness faster. As for some diseases that are called "chronic", that is, last for many years until the end of life such as diabetes, high blood pressure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease..., proper nutrition Not only has a supportive effect but is also considered an essential treatment measure to help the patient "live peacefully" with the disease.

In addition to respiratory disorders, patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease often present with a number of other disorders such as anxiety, depression, malnutrition ... People noticed when obstructive pulmonary disease The more chronic congestion progresses to severe stages, the more susceptible the patient is to malnutrition.
The cause of malnutrition in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is due to an imbalance between the balance of energy supply and the demand for energy consumption, that is, the imbalance between supply and demand. In a normal person, there is always a reasonable balance between supply and demand to keep the body in a stable state, when DEMAND increases, supply also increases to meet and vice versa, DEMAND decreases, the body also self-limiting to reduce SUPPLY. In contrast, in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, it is found that there is an UPPER DEMAND but a DECREASE in SUPPLY.
INCREASE DEMAND: People with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease have to expend more energy than the average person because they have to increase their respiratory activity against bronchial obstruction and air stagnation in the chest. At that time, the respiratory muscles must work more, the breathing rate must increase faster and so the energy needed to perform the respiratory movement must also increase more. Normally, people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease have to expend 5 to 10 times more energy than the average person.

REDUCTION: Although the energy requirement that the body of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease requires is very high, the patient eats very poorly because of the following reasons:
The condition of gas retention in the chest causes The chest is too inflated and presses on the stomach, making the patient very tired when eating. Some aunts often have more difficulty breathing while eating because to perform the swallowing movement, the patient often has to stop breathing for a few seconds. In normal people, short pauses in breathing when swallowing are usually not harmful, but in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, it can make the patient tired when eating and so often do not dare to eat much. Patients often lose their appetite due to sadness, anxiety about their illness or because the patient tends to move less, communicate less, and be sedentary to avoid breathing difficulties, so there are no triggers. hunger. Some patients who have not been able to quit smoking often have a loss of appetite. Many patients often have psychological insecurity, worry too much about their disease for a long time, leading to digestive disorders, maybe even stomach ulcers and also affect eating. In addition, there are other factors that also contribute to the reduction of food intake such as improper and unreasonable eating habits, misconceptions about food and nutrition...
Thus The demand increased a lot, but the supply not only did not increase but decreased, causing the energy balance to be seriously unbalanced and leading to malnutrition.

On the contrary, when malnourished, this very thin and malnourished state also has a bad impact on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: Malnutrition aggravates chronic obstructive pulmonary disease by:
Malnutrition makes the muscles of the whole body, including the respiratory muscles, thin and weak, unable to handle breathing movements. The respiratory muscles are very weak and fatigue easily, and long-term exertion to deal with the bronchial obstruction will become overloaded and the patient will have more difficulty breathing. In addition, to perform respiratory movements with thin and weak muscles, the body needs more energy and thus aggravates malnutrition. Malnutrition is often accompanied by a lack of essential minerals for the body such as calcium, magnesium, phosphate... These are essential substances for the functioning of the muscles. Without the muscles, the muscles are often weak. and get tired easily. Malnutrition also reduces the body's resistance and makes the body very susceptible to infections, especially respiratory infections. Respiratory infections are one of the common causes of exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a dangerous complication of the disease. Thus, people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are very susceptible to malnutrition and once malnourished, the progression of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease tends to worsen.

As mentioned above, malnutrition is very common in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, especially in the advanced stages of the disease. Malnutrition aggravates disease progression, so prevention of malnutrition is essential. Patients should regularly monitor their weight (monthly) and pay attention to see a doctor as soon as they notice persistent weight loss. Using a bronchodilator prescribed by your doctor to ease a blockage in your bronchi is one way to reduce demand.
Regular exercise and movement to build body endurance and strengthen muscles to make breathing more efficient. Eating a nutritious diet, adding energy-rich foods, and drinking enough water are important fundamentals to help people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease have enough energy to cope with the loss of life. balance the energy balance of the body.
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