Abstract
Background: Previously healthy firefighters with World Trade Center (WTC) dust exposure developed airway disease. Risk factors for irritant-associated asthma/COPD overlap are poorly defined. Methods: This study included 2,137 WTC-exposed firefighters who underwent a clinically indicated bronchodilator pulmonary function test (BD-PFT) between 9/11/2001 and 9/10/2017. A post-BD FEV1 increase of > 12% and 200 mL from baseline defined asthma, and a post-BD FEV1/FVC ratio < 0.7 identified COPD cases. Participants who met both criteria had asthma/COPD overlap. Eosinophil levels were measured on screening blood tests performed shortly after 9/11/2001 and prior to BD-PFT; a subgroup of participants also had serum IgE and 21 cytokines measured (n = 215). Marginal Cox regression models for multiple events assessed the associations of eosinophil levels or serum biomarkers with subsequent diagnosis, with age, race, smoking, WTC exposure, first post-9/11 FEV1/FVC ratio, and BMI included as covariates. Results: BD-PFT diagnosed asthma/COPD overlap in 99 subjects (4.6%), isolated-asthma in 202 (9.5%), and isolated-COPD in 215 (10.1%). Eosinophil concentration ≥ 300 cells/μL was associated with increased risk of asthma/COPD overlap (hazard ratio [HR], 1.85; 95% CI, 1.16-2.95) but not with isolated-asthma or isolated-COPD. Serum IL-4 also predicted asthma/COPD overlap (HR, 1.51 per doubling of cytokine concentration; 95% CI, 1.17-1.95). Greater IL-21 concentration was associated with both isolated-asthma and isolated-COPD (HRs of 1.73 [95% CI, 1.27-2.35] and 2.06 [95% CI, 1.31-3.23], respectively). Conclusions: In WTC-exposed firefighters, elevated blood eosinophil and IL-4 levels are associated with subsequent asthma/COPD overlap. Disease-specific T-helper cell type 2 biomarkers present years before diagnosis suggest patient-intrinsic predisposition to irritant-associated asthma/COPD overlap.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1301-1310 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Chest |
Volume | 154 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Dec 2018 |
Keywords
- COPD
- airway obstruction
- asthma
- biomarkers
- eosinophils
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine
- Critical Care and Intensive Care Medicine
- Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine