Association of Lung Quantitative CT Scan Textures With Systemic Inflammation and Mortality in COPD

Background: COPD is characterized by persistent inflammation that is responsible for remodeling the bronchovascular bundles (BVBs), which may lead to poor quality of life. Quantitative CT (QCT) scan textures of the lung can capture local disease patterns of inflammation and related respiratory morbidity. Research Question: Are BVB textures, obtained from the adaptive multiple feature method, associated with systemic inflammation, morbidity, and mortality in COPD? Study Design and Methods: We analyzed data from the Subpopulations and Intermediate Outcome Measures in COPD Study (SPIROMICS; n = 2,981) and the Genetic Epidemiology of COPD (COPDGene) study (n = 10,305). The predictors included 2 QCT scan biomarkers, the BVB and CT density gradient (CTDG) textures, age, sex, BMI, race, smoking status, pack-years of smoking, CT scan-detected emphysema, and square root of the wall area of a hypothetical airway with a 10-mm lumen perimeter (Pi10). Outcomes included plasma biomarker concentrations from Meso Scale Discovery proteomics assays and CBC counts, both as markers of inflammation, along with FEV₁, FEV₁ to FVC ratio, St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire score, 6-minute walk distance, and modified Medical Research Council dyspnea scale score. Associations of these QCT scan textures with FEV₁ decline and all-cause mortality also were investigated. Results: Increased BVB texture was associated significantly with elevated neutrophil and monocyte counts and the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio, independent of clinical covariates, CT scan-detected emphysema, and Pi10. Elevated CTDG was associated with increased neutrophil count, NLR, and tumor necrosis factor α. Increased CTDG and BVB textures also were associated with a lower FEV₁ and 6-minute walk distance. CTDG at baseline was also associated with decline in FEV₁ at the 5-year follow-up in the COPDGene study. We observed a significant association of both BVB texture (SPIROMICS: hazard ratio [HR], 1.084 [95% CI, 1.035-1.135; P < .001]; COPDGene: HR, 1.106 [95% CI, 1.080-1.131; P < .001]) and CTDG texture (SPIROMICS: HR, 1.033 [95% CI, 1.003-1.064; P = .03]; COPDGene: HR, 1.079 [95% CI, 1.061-1.096; P < .001]) with all-cause mortality independent of CT scan-detected emphysema and Pi10. Interpretation: QCT scan textures may provide imaging evidence of the spatial heterogeneity of lung inflammation and overall disease burden in COPD. Clinical Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov; Nos.: NCT01969344 (SPIROMICS) and NCT00608764 (COPDGene); URL: www.clinicaltrials.gov