Asthma harder to control in heavy individuals

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The findings from a new study indicate that asthma is more difficult to control in overweight individuals than in their leaner counterparts.

The study, reported in the journal Allergy, shows that a person who is overweight, with a body mass index or BMI of 25 or more, is less apt to go from an unacceptable to an acceptable level of asthma control. By contrast, the transition from acceptable to unacceptable control was not influenced by BMI.

In the new study, Dr. Philippe Saint-Pierre, from Institut Universitaire de Recherche Clinique in Montpellier, France, and colleagues used a model to analyze data from 406 asthmatics who were followed for a median of 182 days. In addition to examining BMI status, the model accounted for asthma severity as well as current and past oral corticosteroid use.

In analyses taking into account potentially confounding factors, overweight status decreased the likelihood of achieving acceptable asthma control by 47 percent.

Moreover, overweight individuals gained acceptable control of their asthma more slowly than their non-overweight peers.

"Excess weight appears to be an independent determinant of uncontrolled asthma," the authors write. "The consequences in terms of management of asthmatics are important."

SOURCE: Allergy, January 2006.