Body mass index and the risk of asthma in adults

Abstract

Asthma and obesity are both chronic conditions and their prevalences have risen in affluent societies. A positive association between asthma and being overweight or obese has been reported in children and women, but associations in men are less clearly described. The objective of this study was to explore the association between body mass index (BMI) and asthma in men and women of diverse ethnic and socioeconomic background living in New York State, USA. In this study, we analyzed cross-sectional data on 5524 subjects aged 18 years and older who were interviewed by telephone in the 1996 and 1997 New York State Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Asthma (doctor-diagnosed), and weight and height were self-reported. BMI (kg/m2) was used as a measure of adiposity. Weighted logistic regression analysis, with stratification by gender and age, was used to examine the relationship between asthma prevalence and BMI, adjusting for race/ethnicity, education, health insurance, time since last physical examination, physical activity and smoking status. The results showed that the prevalence of asthma was 4.6% (CI: 3.6-5.5%) among men and 8.1% (CI: 7.1-9.1%) among women. In women, the prevalence of asthma was significantly increased in those with a BMI 25 kg/m2 or higher (BMI 25-27.5: OR = 1.76, 95% CI: 1.06-2.94; BMI 27.5-29.9: OR = 2.45, 95% CI: 1.41-4.25; BMI > or = 30: OR = 2.67, 95% CI: 1.66-4.29) when compared to the reference category (BMI: 22-24.9 kg/m2). In men, the prevalence of asthma was increased in the lowest weight category, BMI < 22 kg/m2 (OR = 3.05, 95% CI: 1.37-6.78) and in the highest category, BMI > or = 30 kg/m2 (OR = 2.92, 95% CI: 1.39-6.14). This U-shaped association persisted when restricting the analysis to men who had never smoked and was more pronounced for those between 18 and 49 years of age. In conclusion, this cross-sectional study showed that men and women differ significantly in the association between BMI and asthma prevalence only with respect to the lowest weight category. While women had a monotonic association, men showed a U-shaped relationship, indicating that both extremes of weight are associated with a higher prevalence of asthma.

Childhood Asthma and Extreme Values of Body Mass Index: The Harlem Children’s Zone Asthma Initiative

“…Nonetheless, the proportion of Black and Hispanic children in our study reflects the racial and ethnic profile of Central Harlem from the 2000 U.S. Census, and the high rates of current asthma and overweight observed in our dataset are similar to those in published reports of other less affluent, urban communities in New York City. 4,37,38 In short, our results are consistent with findings from other cross-sectional and prospective studies in children and adults 18,[27][28][29][30][31] and address the unresolved issue of whether gender modifies the putative association between obesity and asthma. 39 On the basis of our findings, we are in the process of implementing an intervention for overweight and at risk for overweight children with asthma enrolled in the HCZAI, which will include physical activity and nutrition sessions and an asthma educational intervention.…”

“…[27][28][29] A similar pattern has been observed among children 6-14 years of age. 18 In addition, our analyses presented here utilized both a continuous measure of BMI percentile, which strengthened our statistical analysis, and the CDC-defined categories for underweight, normal weight, at risk for overweight, and overweight, which facilitated interpretation of our results.…”

Quality of Life and Health Outcomes in Overweight and Non-Overweight Children With Asthma

“…However, much of the research in this area has focused on adults (Akerman, Calacanis, & Madsen, 2004;Ford & Mannino, 2005;Luder, Ehrlich, Lou, Melnik, & Kattan, 2004;Spivak, Hewitt, Onn, & Half, 2005). A study examing the trends in obesity among adults, used data from the NHANES I, II, and III which showed that people with asthma are far more likely to be obese than people who do not have asthma (Ford & Mannino, 2005).…”

In vitro diagnosis of allergy: how to interpret IgE antibody results in clinical practice

“…In this context, questions to ask the patient would include: In addition, more recent publications suggest that information regarding obesity, physical inactivity and time spent indoors may add to the precision of the diagnosis [5,6].…”