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Article History

Received: 7 October 2024

Accepted: 3 December 2024

First Online: 21 January 2025

Declarations

:

: The study was approved by the local ethics committee of Dokuz Eylul University (No: 2020/01–23, date: 6 January 2020).

: Verbal and written informed consent to participate in this study was obtained from all individual participants.

: Not Applicable: this manuscript does not include identifying images or other personal or clinical details of participants that compromise anonymity.

: The authors declare no competing interests.

: To our knowledge, this study is among the first to investigate the impact of obesity on the NLRP3 pathway in COPD. Additionally, owing to the close proximity of our research center, blood samples were analyzed shortly after collection, ensuring data accuracy. However, our study has several limitations. This study was conducted at a tertiary care center with a small sample size, which may not accurately represent the broader COPD population. Moreover, our sample group consisted solely of stable COPD patients, which could limit the assessment of the relationship between obesity and COPD. We also acknowledge age and sex distribution limitations within the sample, which may affect the generalizability of our findings. As no exacerbations were observed for at least one month prior, potential variations in inflammasome expression linked to exacerbation periods may not have been detected. Future studies should investigate these effects during exacerbation phases and aim for a larger, multi-center cohort with balanced age and sex distribution for a more comprehensive understanding of the NLRP3 pathway’s role.