Relationship between asthma and obesity in pupils

Abstract

Cornel Valean, Simona Tatar, Mircea Nanulescu, Adrian Leucuta, Gabriela Ichim

UMF "Iuliu Hatieganu" Cluj-Napoca, Clinica Pediatrie III

Contact: Simona Tatar, simonatatar@gmail.com

Clinica Pediatrie III, Str. Campeni, Nr. 2-4, 400217 Cluj-Napoca, jud. Cluj, Romania

ABSTRACT

Background: Obesity and asthma are both public health problems with an increasing prevalence all over the world. The association between asthma and obesity was studied and proved in some papers, although the pathogenic pathway between them is not exactly known.

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between obesity and asthma by measuring the prevalence of obesity in asthmatic children compared with a control population.

Methods: Two groups of children aged between 7 and 18 years were studied: one group of asthmatic children and a control group, with the same age and sex with the first group. The differences between the two groups regarding the BMI were calculated, obesity being defined as a body mass index greater than the 95th percentile.

Results: A number of 200 children with asthma and 200 children in the control group were studied. The mean age was 10,49 years. 61,5% of children were boys. No significant difference was observed in the two groups regarding the percentage of overweight and obese children, except in the group of 7-10 years, where there is a greater percentage of children with overweight in the asthmatic group (23,3% vs 1% in the control group, p=0,045).

Conclusion. Obesity does not constitute, therefore, a risk factor for asthma and does not contribute to the severity of the disease.

Keywords: asthma, obesity, children