Obesity Trends among Asthma Patients in the United States: A Population-based Study

Abstract

Background Asthma, a chronic condition characterized by airway inflammation and airflow obstruction, is one of the most prevalent diseases in the United State (US) and worldwide [1, 2]. Obesity is a well-established risk factor for new onset asthma, asthma morbidity and poorer asthma-related quality of life [3-6]. Potential mechanisms underlying the relationship between obesity and poor asthma outcomes may include enhanced inflammation, increased level of oxidative stress, and decreased response to standard asthma medication (e.g., inhaled corticosteroids [ICS]) [4, 23, 24, 26] increased prevalence of comorbidities such as gastro-esophageal reflux, sleep disorders, and depression associated with obesity [7-9], also worsen asthma control. The prevalence of obesity in the US has increased steadily during the past 30 years, reaching an overall rate of 36.5% in the general population in 2014 [10, 18, 19, 21, 22]. However, less is known about the trajectory of obesity and overweight among individuals with asthma. This information is important to estimate the extent that obesity contributes to the burden of asthma and to develop policy interventions to curve the negative impact of obesity in this vulnerable group of patients. In this study, we used data from the nationally representative U.S. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) to assess the trends of obesity and overweight in patients with asthma and to identify the subgroups of patients at higher risk of increased weight.

The challenge of addressing obesity in people with poorly controlled asthma

“…Many participants had elevated scores on a depression questionnaire (though some of these symptoms may overlap with those of obesity). Our data reflect the fact that obesity and asthma reflect a health burden particularly afflicting minorities and those of lower socioeconomic status (SES) 2 : interventions targeting obesity are likely important to address health disparities related to asthma in the United States.…”

“…While this was not a population based study, when comparing to prior studies completed by the same centers and US population data, the current study population included a higher number of African American and lower SES participants, reflecting the fact that obesity associated with asthma contributes to disparities in health. 2 …”

“…While this was not a population based study, when comparing to prior studies completed by the same centers and US population data, the current study population included a higher number of African American and lower SES participants, reflecting the fact that obesity associated with asthma contributes to disparities in health. 2 The impact of obesity on quality of life in our study population was investigated. Obesity is often associated with low self-esteem and public distress as measured by the "Impact of Weight on Quality of Life" questionnaire, a validated questionnaire assessing quality of life related to weight.…”

“…1 Obesity is particularly common in minority people with asthma. 2 The combination of obesity and asthma is a major public health issue as obesity is associated with severe, difficult to control asthma and people with obesity tend not to respond as well to standard asthma medications as lean people. 3 All medications currently used to treat asthma have been developed for the treatment of asthma in leaner populations, and so there is a paucity of data to guide treatment options for patients with obesity and asthma.…”

Asthme et obésité: relation et implications thérapeutiques auprès des patients asthmatiques du Service de Pneumologie de Monastir, Tunisie

“…L’obésité et l’asthme sont deux maladies chroniques touchant des millions d’individus à travers le monde [ 1 , 2 ]. Ces deux pathologies constituent par leur fréquence croissante un véritable défi pour le clinicien et pour la santé publique [ 3 ].…”