PhD conferral Mrs. Rosanne J.H.C.G. Beijers, MSc.

Keywords: COPD, cardiometabolic risk, normal body weight, low muscle mass, abdominal obesity, nitrate, resveratrol, exercise

"Cardiometabolic risk modulation in normal-weight COPD"

Patients with COPD have an increased risk of developing cardiometabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. This dissertation found that the risk not only increases in overweight patients, but also in normal-weight patients with abdominal obesity and low muscle mass. Standard nutrition and exercise interventions in this group of patients focus on improving muscle function and endurance; however, this dissertation found that these interventions did not affect cardiometabolic risk. Instead, lifestyle changes are recommended for this group of patients. We also conducted a controlled experiment to determine whether nitrate has a beneficial effect on cardiometabolic risk, but this was not the case.