Hancox RJ, Milne BJ, Poulton R, Taylor DR, Green JM, McLachlan CR, Cowan JO, Flannery EM, Herbison GP, Sears MR. 2005. Sex differences in the relation between body mass index and asthma and atopy in a birth cohort. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (AJRCCM), 171 (5): 440-445.
This was a study of about 1000 adults recruited into a birth cohort in New Zealand. Between ages 9-26, data on height and weight (to calculate body mass index, BMI), asthma, lung function measures, airways responsiveness to challenges, and atopy were collected several times. Statistical analyses adjusted for known potential covariates; those data were collected as part of the surveys.
Among female adults, BMI was statistically significantly associated with increased asthma, wheezing, asthma treatment medications use and atopy, and a decreased FEV1.0/FVC ratio (measure of lung function). These statistically significant associations were not observed among male adults or among children in this study.
For more information on this study, please read the abstract and the full text, if your institution or local library has access to it, at:
http://ajrccm.atsjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/171/5/440 |
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