Association between Obesity and Asthma in Preschool Mexican Children

Abstract

The elevated prevalence of obesity as well as of asthma in preschool children has prompted investigators to speculate that obesity in childhood might be a causal factor in the development of asthma. The results obtained to date are debatable. We investigated the association between obesity and asthma in 1,160 preschool Mexican children. Diagnosis of asthma was performed using the International Study of Asthma and Allergy in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire. The body mass index (BMI) in units of kg/m2 was determined, and children were categorized according to age- and gender-specific criteria, such as normal weight (5th-85th percentile), overweight (ࣙ85th and <95th percentile), and obesity (ࣙ95th percentile). Power test for logistic regression model was calculated. We found no association between overweight (adjusted OR = 1.02; 95% CI = 0.66–1.58), obesity (adjusted OR = 0.94; 95% CI = 0.68–1.30), and wheezing during the last year as determined by logistic regression model adjusted. We did not find an association between overweight, obesity, and asthma-associated hospitalizations. Further longitudinal studies are required to provide a better understanding of the relationship between obesity and asthma in preschool children.

Childhood body mass index and wheezing disorders: a systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…= 28; I 2 = 64%; 95% CI: 46–76%). When meta‐analysis was carried out on 21 studies that presented adjusted risk estimates of overweight on childhood wheezing disorders, the summary risk estimate was slightly accentuated (OR = 1.30, 95% CI: 1.19–1.42; p < 0.001) whereas the between‐study heterogeneity substantially decreased (Q = 27, d.f. = 20, p = 0.12; I 2 = 27%, 95% CI: 0.0–57%) (Fig.…”

“…= 20; I 2 = 82% (95% CI: 73–88%). However, when the analysis was repeated on the adjusted risk estimate of obesity on wheezing disorders available from 16 studies , the heterogeneity was attenuated (Q = 28, d.f. = 14, p = 0.02; I 2 = 46%, 95% CI: 3–70%) whilst the summary risk estimate slightly increased (OR = 1.60, 95% CI: 1.42–1.81) (Fig.…”

A systematic review of the association between obesity and asthma in children

“…The other less scrutinized type consisted of modifiable factors concerning the children's risk behaviour such as children's dietary habits or patterns (Luder et al . 1998, Vázquez-Nava et al . 2010, von Kries et al .…”

Obesity and Asthma: Physiological Perspective

“…This is particularly observed in males and paediatric population [19, 51–56]. Asthma-obesity studies have some pertinent methodological limitations, particularly over reliance on self-reporting of symptoms age and height, and inadequate sample size issues, which could have contributed to the absent obesity-asthma link in some studies.…”