Increased body mass index does not lead to a worsening of asthma control in a large adult asthmatic population in spain

Background: data on the association between obesity and asthma control are conflicting. we performed an analysis to elucidate the association between body mass index (bmi) and asthma control in a large sample of asthmatics.materials and methods: data were obtained from a previous study in which the asthma control questionnaire (acq) and asthma control test (act) were validated for a spanish population. the study sample comprised 607 adult (≥18 years) asthmatic patients (61% female),of whom 235 (39%) had mild-persistent asthma,246 (41%) had moderate-persistent asthma,and 126 (21%) had severe-persistent asthma. results: the analysis showed a significant but very low correlation between bmi and acq-forced expiratory volume in the first second of expiration (fev1) (r=0.1,p=.007) and acq-peak expiratory flow (pef) (r=0.1,p=.010),but not acq-without lung function (wlf) (r=0.06,p=.116) or act. no significant association was found between bmi and asthma control as defi ned by physicians or according to act or acq (acq-fev1,acq-pef and acq-wlf) scores. we found no significant associations between act,acqs (acq-fev1,acq-pef and acq-wlf),and bmi when bmi was classifi ed as low (bmi,<18.5 kg/m2),normal (18.5-24.9 kg/m2),overweight (25-29.9 kg/m2),obesity (bmi,≥30 kg/m2),or morbid obesity (bmi,>34.9 kg/m2). however,the percentage of patients with poor control was slightly greater in patients with low bmi and obesity. conclusions: using specific and validated tools,and in the context of clinical practice,this study did not fi nd a relevant association between bmi and asthma control. © 2010 esmon publicidad.