Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012 May;20(5):1041-7.
doi: 10.1038/oby.2012.5. Epub 2012 Jan 17.

Higher prevalence of obesity among children with asthma

Mary Helen Black  1 , Ning Smith, Amy H Porter, Steven J Jacobsen, Corinna Koebnick
Affiliations
Free PMC article

Higher prevalence of obesity among children with asthma

Mary Helen Black et al. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2012 May.
Free PMC article

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the association between childhood obesity and asthma, and whether this relationship varies by race/ethnicity. For this population-based, cross-sectional study, measured weight and height, and asthma diagnoses were extracted from electronic medical records of 681,122 patients aged 6-19 years who were enrolled in an integrated health plan 2007-2009. Weight class was assigned based on BMI-for-age. Overall, 18.4% of youth had a history of asthma and 10.9% had current asthma. Adjusted odds of current asthma for overweight, moderately obese, and extremely obese youth relative to those of normal weight were 1.22 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.20, 1.24), 1.37 (95% CI: 1.34, 1.40), and 1.68 (95% CI: 1.64, 1.73), respectively (P trend < 0.001). Black youth are nearly twice as likely (adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 1.93, 95% CI: 1.89, 1.99), and Hispanic youth are 25% less likely (adjusted OR = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.74, 0.77), to have current asthma than to non-Hispanic white youth. However, the relationship between BMI and asthma was strongest in Hispanic and weakest in black youth. Among youth with asthma, increasing body mass was associated with more frequent ambulatory and emergency department visits, as well as increased inhaled and oral corticosteroid use. In conclusion, overweight, moderate, and extreme obesity are associated with higher odds of asthma in children and adolescents, although the association varies widely with race/ethnicity. Increasing BMI among youth with asthma is associated with higher consumption of corticosteroids and emergency department visits.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Adjusted odds ratios (95% CIs) for current asthma vs. BMI category, by race/ethnicity. All models adjusted for age, sex, and Medi-Cal status. CI, confidence interval.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Panel (a) represents the rate of asthma-specific ambulatory visits and panel (b) represents the rate of asthma-specific emergency department visits, per 1,000 youth (95% CI), by BMI category. CI, confidence interval.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Akinbami LJ, Moorman JE, Garbe PL, Sondik EJ. Status of childhood asthma in the United States, 1980–2007. Pediatrics. 2009;123 Suppl 3:S131–45. - PubMed
    1. Ogden CL, Carroll MD, Curtin LR, Lamb MM, Flegal KM. Prevalence of high body mass index in US children and adolescents, 2007-2008. JAMA. 2010;303:242–249. - PubMed
    1. Brenner JS, Kelly CS, Wenger AD, Brich SM, Morrow AL. Asthma and obesity in adolescents: is there an association. J Asthma. 2001;38:509–515. - PubMed
    1. Rodríguez MA, Winkleby MA, Ahn D, Sundquist J, Kraemer HC. Identification of population subgroups of children and adolescents with high asthma prevalence: findings from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2002;156:269–275. - PubMed
    1. Gilliland FD, Berhane K, Islam T.et al. Obesity and the risk of newly diagnosed asthma in school-age children Am J Epidemiol 2003158406–415. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances