Asthma diagnosis is not associated with obesity in a population of adults from Madrid

Abstract

Background: Several studies have suggested a relationship between asthma and obesity; however, this relationship is unclear when obesity is compared with bronchial hyperresponsiveness to methacholine. Aim: To determine whether obesity is associated with a diagnosis of asthma. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study in a population of Spanish adults in the north of Madrid, Spain between 2003 and 2007. The patients included had experienced asthma symptoms during the previous year, but had a ratio of forced expiratory volume in the fi rst second of expiration (FEV1) to forced vital capacity (FVC) of >70%. Diagnosis was confi rmed by the presence of symptoms and demonstration of bronchial hyperresponsiveness to methacholine. Obesity was measured by body mass index (BMI). Adjusted odd ratios (OR) were obtained by logistic regression. Results: Of a total of 1424 patients included, 251 (17.6%) were diagnosed with asthma. These patients were younger (P<.001) and had lower BMI (P<.001) and lung function parameters (FEV1 and FEV1/FVC ratio) than individuals without asthma (P<.001). After adjusting the model for age, gender, baseline FEV1, and FEV1/FVC ratio, patients with overweight or obesity were not more frequently diagnosed with asthma than those with normal weight (OR, 0.848 [95% confi dence interval (CI), 0.59-1.20]; and OR, 0.616 [95% CI, 0.38-0.99], respectively). In addition, obese males were more frequently diagnosed with asthma than obese females (P<.041). Conclusions: In this study, obesity and overweight were not associated with a diagnosis of asthma based on the presence of consistent symptoms and demonstration of airway responsiveness to methacholine

Fundamento: Varios estudios sugieren que la obesidad es un factor de riesgo para padecer asma, lo que no siempre se confi rma cuando se compara la obesidad con la hiperreactividad bronquial (HRB) en pacientes con síntomas de asma. Objetivo: Determinar si la obesidad se asocia con el diagnóstico de asma, confi rmado por presencia de síntomas e HRB a metacolina. Pacientes y Métodos: Se realizó un estudio transversal en población adulta del Área Norte de Madrid entre 2003 y 2007. Se incluyeron sujetos que habían padecido síntomas de asma en el último año, con un FEV1/FVC>70% y que precisaban una prueba de metacolina para confi rmar el diagnóstico. La obesidad se defi nió según el índice de masa corporal (IMC). Se aplicó un modelo de regresión logística para calcular odd ratios (OR) ajustadas. Resultados: Se estudiaron 1.424 sujetos y se diagnosticaron de asma 251 sujetos (17,6%) que, comparados con los 1.173 no diagnosticados de asma, eran más jóvenes y presentaban un IMC y parámetros de función pulmonar (FEV1, FEV1/FVC) más bajos (p<0,001). Tras ajustar el modelo por edad, sexo, FEV1 basal y FEV1/FVC el diagnóstico de asma no fue más prevalente en los sujetos obesos o con sobrepeso que en los sujetos con peso normal (OR 0,848, IC95% 0,59-1,20 y OR 0,616, IC95% 0,38-0,99, respectivamente). El diagnóstico de asma fue más frecuente en hombres obesos que en mujeres obesas (p=0,041). Conclusiones: La obesidad y el sobrepeso no se asociaron con el diagnóstico de asma establecido por la presencia de síntomas e HRB a metacolina