PORTLAND, Ore -- September 4, 2008 -- Obese people who have asthma are nearly 5 times more likely to be hospitalised for the condition compared with nonobese people with asthma, according to a study published in the September issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
This is the first study to control for the risk factors -- smoking, use of oral or inhaled corticosteroid medications, gastroesophageal reflux disorder, and demographics -- that might explain the obesity-asthma association.
Researchers at Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, Portland, Oregon, and the Kaiser Permanente Institute for Health Research, Denver, Colorado, surveyed 1,113 patients in Oregon, Washington, and Colorado aged 35 years and older who have persistent asthma.
The researchers asked the patients about their weight, height, smoking habits, other illnesses, treatment, asthma-specific quality of life, asthma control, and asthma-related hospitalisations.
"The big finding here is that even after adjusting for risk factors, obese adults were nearly 5 times more likely to be hospitalised for their asthma," said study lead author David M. Mosen, PhD, Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research.
"Given that nearly 30% of our country is obese, this study is yet another example of the long-term dangers of obesity, along with heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and dementia."
The study determined that obese people with asthma had significantly worse asthma control, lower asthma-related quality of life, and 4.6 times a higher risk for asthma-related hospitalisations compared with nonobese asthmatics.
Obese people with asthma also used more oral corticosteroids and had a higher incidence of gastroesophageal reflux disorder.
"The take-home message of this study for clinicians is that obese people with asthma need to be followed more carefully because it's harder to control their asthma, so they are more likely to end up in the hospital," said coauthor Michael Schatz, MD, Kaiser Permanente San Diego Medical Center, San Diego, California.
SOURCE: Kaiser Permanente
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