Chest
Original ResearchAsthmaObesity Is a Determinant of Asthma Control Independent of Inflammation and Lung Mechanics
Section snippets
Subject Characteristics
Adult subjects were recruited from a volunteer's database at The Woolcock Institute of Medical Research by advertising throughout the University of Sydney and by referrals from local respiratory practices. Subjects were eligible if they had a physician diagnosis of asthma and AHR to methacholine, no current smoking (< 10 pack-year smoking history and no smoking within the last 6 months), no chest infections, no antibiotic or oral prednisone use in the previous 4 weeks, and no lung disease other
Before Treatment
Baseline demographics and lung function test results for 49 subjects with asthma are shown in Table 1, according to BMI groups. Subjects were relatively young adults (range 24-51 years). The mean disease duration was 26 years (23-29 years), with no significant difference between BMI groups. There was only one subject who was nonatopic and obese. Subjects who were obese and had asthma tended to be older, had worse FEV1, and had more severe AHR, despite higher use of ICS compared with subjects of
Discussion
The results of this study indicate that obesity is a determinant of asthma control that is independent of airway inflammation, lung function, and AHR. After high-dose inhaled antiinflammatory treatment, obesity and airway caliber remained as independent predictors of asthma control. The effect of obesity on asthma control was similar before and after treatment. However, obesity accounted for the majority of the residual symptoms after treating the steroid-responsive airway abnormalities typical
Acknowledgments
Author contributions: Dr Farah is the guarantor of the manuscript.
Dr Farah: contributed to the study design, data analysis, data interpretation, and writing of the manuscript.
Ms Kermode: contributed to the data collection, data analysis, data interpretation, and writing of the manuscript.
Dr Downie: contributed to the data collection, data analysis, data interpretation, and writing of the manuscript.
Dr Brown: contributed to the data analysis, data interpretation, and writing of the manuscript.
Ms
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Cited by (0)
Funding/Support: This study was supported by research grants from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia and the Cooperative Research Centre for Asthma and Airways.
Reproduction of this article is prohibited without written permission from the American College of Chest Physicians (http://www.chestpubs.org/site/misc/reprints.xhtml).