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
Comparative Study
. 2020 Apr;75(4):313-320.
doi: 10.1136/thoraxjnl-2019-213880. Epub 2020 Feb 25.

Body mass index and weight change are associated with adult lung function trajectories: the prospective ECRHS study

Gabriela P Peralta  1   2   3 , Alessandro Marcon  4 , Anne-Elie Carsin  1   2   3   5 , Michael J Abramson  6 , Simone Accordini  4 , André Fs Amaral  7 , Josep M Antó  1   2   3 , Gayan Bowatte  8   9 , Peter Burney  7 , Angelo Corsico  10 , Pascal Demoly  11   12 , Shyamali Dharmage  8 , Bertil Forsberg  13 , Elaine Fuertes  7 , Vanessa Garcia-Larsen  14 , Thorarinn Gíslason  15   16 , José-Antonio Gullón  17 , Joachim Heinrich  8   18   19 , Mathias Holm  20 , Deborah L Jarvis  7   21 , Christer Janson  22 , Rain Jogi  23 , Ane Johannessen  24   25 , Bénédicte Leynaert  26   27 , Jesús Martínez-Moratalla Rovira  28 , Dennis Nowak  18   19 , Nicole Probst-Hensch  29   30 , Chantal Raherison  31 , José-Luis Sánchez-Ramos  32 , Torben Sigsgaard  33 , Valérie Siroux  34 , Giulia Squillacioti  35 , Isabel Urrutia  36 , Joost Weyler  37 , Jan-Paul Zock  1   2   3 , Judith Garcia-Aymerich  38   2   3
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Body mass index and weight change are associated with adult lung function trajectories: the prospective ECRHS study

Gabriela P Peralta et al. Thorax. 2020 Apr.

Abstract

Background: Previous studies have reported an association between weight increase and excess lung function decline in young adults followed for short periods. We aimed to estimate lung function trajectories during adulthood from 20-year weight change profiles using data from the population-based European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS).

Methods: We included 3673 participants recruited at age 20-44 years with repeated measurements of weight and lung function (forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1)) in three study waves (1991-93, 1999-2003, 2010-14) until they were 39-67 years of age. We classified subjects into weight change profiles according to baseline body mass index (BMI) categories and weight change over 20 years. We estimated trajectories of lung function over time as a function of weight change profiles using population-averaged generalised estimating equations.

Results: In individuals with normal BMI, overweight and obesity at baseline, moderate (0.25-1 kg/year) and high weight gain (>1 kg/year) during follow-up were associated with accelerated FVC and FEV1 declines. Compared with participants with baseline normal BMI and stable weight (±0.25 kg/year), obese individuals with high weight gain during follow-up had -1011 mL (95% CI -1.259 to -763) lower estimated FVC at 65 years despite similar estimated FVC levels at 25 years. Obese individuals at baseline who lost weight (<-0.25 kg/year) exhibited an attenuation of FVC and FEV1 declines. We found no association between weight change profiles and FEV1/FVC decline.

Conclusion: Moderate and high weight gain over 20 years was associated with accelerated lung function decline, while weight loss was related to its attenuation. Control of weight gain is important for maintaining good lung function in adult life.

Keywords: BMI; adults; epidemiology; lung function; obesity; weight change.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: JG-A reports personal fees from Esteve, Chiesi and AstraZeneca, outside the submitted work. MJA reports grants from Pfizer, grants from Boehringer-Ingelheim and personal fees from Sanofi, outside the submitted work. PD reports personal fees from ALK, Stallergenes Greer, IQVIA, Chiesi, AstraZeneca, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Menarini, Bausch & Lomb, Mylan, ASIT Biotech, Novartis, Sanofi and Regeneron, outside the submitted work. RJ reports grants from Estonian Research Council (Personal Research Grant no 562) and personal fees from GSK, Boehringer and Novartis, outside the submitted work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Estimated trajectories of FVC (in mL) decline by weight change profiles. The figure shows estimated FVC values and their corresponding 95% CI. Models are adjusted for sex, height, age, age squared, smoking status, an interaction term between smoking status and age, current asthma and spirometer type. Reference category: normal BMI at baseline and stable weight during follow-up. All graphs are presented with a ‘jitter’ (0.05) to avoid overlap of CI bars. BMI, body mass index; FVC, forced vital capacity.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Estimated trajectories of FEV1 (mL) decline by weight change profiles. The figure shows estimated FEV1 values and their corresponding 95% CI. Models are adjusted for sex, height, age, age squared, smoking status, an interaction term between smoking status and age, current asthma and spirometer type. Reference category: normal BMI at baseline and stable weight during follow-up. All graphs are presented with a ‘jitter’ (0.05) to avoid overlap of CI bars. BMI, body mass index; FEV1, forced expiratory volume in 1 s.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Estimated trajectories of FEV1/FVC (%) decline by weight change profiles. The figure shows estimated FEV1/FVC values and their corresponding 95% CI. Models are adjusted for sex, height, age, age squared, smoking status, an interaction term between smoking status and age, current asthma and spirometer type. Reference category: normal BMI at baseline and stable weight during follow-up. All graphs are presented with a ‘jitter’ (0.05) to avoid overlap of CI bars. BMI, body mass index; FEV1, forced expiratory volume in 1 s; FVC, forced vital capacity.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Young RP, Hopkins R, Eaton TE. Forced expiratory volume in one second: not just a lung function test but a marker of premature death from all causes. Eur Respir J 2007;30:616–22. 10.1183/09031936.00021707 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Young RP, J. Hopkins R. Primary and secondary prevention of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: where to next? Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2014;190:839–40. 10.1164/rccm.201405-0883LE - DOI - PubMed
    1. Wang M-L, McCabe L, Petsonk EL, et al. . Weight gain and longitudinal changes in lung function in steel workers. Chest 1997;111:1526–32. 10.1378/chest.111.6.1526 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bottai M, Pistelli F, Di Pede F, et al. . Longitudinal changes of body mass index, spirometry and diffusion in a general population. Eur Respir J 2002;20:665–73. 10.1183/09031936.02.01282001 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Carey IM, Cook DG, Strachan DP. The effects of adiposity and weight change on forced expiratory volume decline in a longitudinal study of adults. Int J Obes 1999;23:979–85. 10.1038/sj.ijo.0801029 - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms