Link between asthma and obesity can reduce both ways

Friday, September 14, 2018 (HealthDay News) – Doctors have long known that obesity increases the risk of developing asthma, but new research suggests that the opposite may also be true.

In Spain, scientists have discovered that people with asthma are at greater risk of obesity, especially those who develop the disease in adulthood and those who suffer from asthma without allergy.

"We already know that obesity can trigger asthma, perhaps through a physiological, metabolic or inflammatory change." Up to now, there has been very little research to find out if 39, infection can lead to obesity, "said Dr. Subhabrata Moitra. He is a researcher at the European Respiratory Society at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health.

"In this study, we have enough people and we followed them long enough to observe the relationship between these two conditions," Moitra said in a press release.

The researchers analyzed data from more than 8,600 people from 12 countries included in the European Community's respiratory health survey. None of the participants were obese at the start of the survey.

People who have ever had an asthma attack, woke up because of shortness of breath or were taking anti-asthma medications were classified as suffering from asthma. The researchers followed each participant after 10 years and at 20 years.

After taking into account other risk factors – such as age, gender, and level of physical activity – the researchers found that about 10% of those who were suffering from Asthma at the beginning of the study were obese 10 years later. The same was true for only 8% of those who had no asthma at baseline.

"Our results suggest that the relationship between the two conditions is more complicated than we had previously done," said Moitra. "It is important that we make more efforts to distinguish it.For example, we do not know why having asthma increases the risk of developing obesity or if different treatments for asthma have an effect on this risk. "

According to Guy Brusselle, President of the Scientific Council of the European Respiratory Society, "This research is an important step in helping us unravel the relationship between obesity and asthma, but it also raises new questions about their relationship and helping patients. "

The results should be presented Sunday at the international congress of the European Society of Pneumology, in Paris. Research presented at these meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

More information

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States have a greater impact on asthma and obesity.