The first of its kind study, conducted by David M Mosen of the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research at Denver surveyed 1,113 asthma patients above 35 years of age, while controlling risk factors like smoking, use of oral or inhaled medications, gastroesophageal reflux disorder, and demographics that might explain the obesity-asthma association.
Obese individuals were 2.7 times more likely to have poor asthma control, 4.6 times more likely to have a history of asthma-related hospitalization, and 2.8 more likely to have poor asthma-specific qualify of life, the study found.
Even after adjusting for risk factors, obese adults were nearly five times more likely to be hospitalised for their asthma, said lead author Mosen. Previous studies have shown that obese people are more likely to suffer asthma than non-obese people, and also likely to suffer more severely.
The researchers reported their findings in the September issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
