HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS REGISTER		Author Keyword(s) Vol Page [Advanced]

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this link to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Add article to my folders Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Taylor, B Articles by Holguin, F Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Taylor, B Articles by Holguin, F

Body mass index and asthma severity in the National Asthma Survey

¹ Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
² University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA
³ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Correspondence to:
Dr F Holguin, Clinical Research Center, Emory Crawford Long Hospital, 550 Peachtree St, Davis-Fischer Building, Room 2331, Atlanta, GA 30308, USA; fch5{at}cdc.gov

Background: The association between obesity and asthma severity remains controversial and limited to small studies.

Methods: We determined the association of body mass index (BMI) and asthma severity in the National Asthma Survey. We included adults (age 18 years) who self-reported symptoms of asthma in the past 5 years. A total of 3095 patients were divided into the following BMI categories: 1080 (35%) non-overweight (BMI <25), 993 (32%) overweight (BMI 25 and <30) and 1022 (33%) obese (BMI 30). Asthma severity measures included respiratory symptoms, healthcare utilisation, medication use, missed work days and the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) severity classification. Models were adjusted for: gender, race, age, education, income, employment status, smoking status, family history of asthma, state of residence and residence in a metropolitan statistical area.

Results: Compared with non-overweight subjects, obese subjects with asthma were more likely to report continuous symptoms (OR 1.66, 95% CI 1.09 to 2.54), miss more work days (OR 1.35, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.81), use short acting beta agonists (OR 1.36, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.75), use inhaled corticosteroids (OR 1.34, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.79) and use any controller medication according to GINA guidelines (OR 1.37, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.85). Also, obese respondents were less likely to be in asthma remission (OR 0.56, 95% CI 0.38 to 0.82) and were more likely to have severe persistent asthma (GINA IV) (OR 1.42, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.90).

Conclusions: In a large, diverse sample of adults with asthma, obesity was associated with measures of asthma severity after adjusting for potential confounders.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				L Mascitelli, F Pezzetta, and M R Goldstein Leptin and regulatory T cells in obese patients with asthma Thorax, July 1, 2008; 63(7): 659 - 659. [Full Text] [PDF]