LCN2 and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: In the same vein, another study from 2011 found that that female sex, older age, cachexia, and plasma concentrations of the systematic inflammatory markers soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 (sTNF-R1) and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) were associated with CKD in COPD patients [15].