Obesity and asthma severity among adults presenting to the out patient clinic

ABSTRACT

Recent studies have suggested a relationship between asthma and obesity. The risk for developing asthma increases with increasing obesity among individuals. Yet little is known about how obesity influences asthma. To determine whether a relation of Obesity to asthma exists among adults presenting to the out patient respiratory clinic, and the correlation between Obesity and spirometric changes in patients with asthma. A cross-sectional study was done for one hundred patients aged 17 to 70 years patients with asthma diagnosed by clinical and pulmonary function test, in the respiratory outpatient's clinic in AL Kadhmia Teaching Hospital. Collected from May to December 2010. The following parameters were assessed Weight, height, body mass index, gender, spirometric parameters which includes of forced expiratory volume in 1 second [FEVI], forced vital capacity[FVC],FEV 1/FVC ratio, and forced expiratory flow 50% [FEF50%]. There were 100 asthmatic patients,32 male and 68 female. There age between 17-70 year, classified into four groups according to BMI. There was significant relation between obesity and asthma [p=0.03],this relation was statistically significant in female[p=0.003] but not in male. Spiromety in male showed no statistically significant [p-value > 0.05] for FEVI, FVC FEVI/FVC ratio, FEF50% in both non obese and obese, but in female statistically significant for FEVI/FVC[p 0.05], FEF50% [p 0.036], while no statistically significant for FEVI, FVC in both groups, for both male and female according to BMI there is statistically significant for FEF50% [p 0.015],while no statistically significant for FEVI/FVC, FVC, FEVI in both groups. There was a significant relation between asthma and obesity, in female, but not in male. There is statistically significant difference for FEF50%, and FEVI/FVC in obese female. Also there is statistically significant difference for FEF50% in both male and female according to BMI