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Weight Status and Respiratory Health in Asthmatic Children

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Abstract

In this study,we explored the effect of adiposity as measured by BMI on lung function in 72 asthmatic school children (5–12 years) using baseline data from the Mediterranean diet enriched with fatty fish intervention study. Bronchial function was assessed using spirometry and fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO). BMI categories were classified as normal and overweight/obese based on International Obesity Task Force cut-offs. Weak correlations were observed between BMI and FVC (p = 0.013) and FEV1 (p = 0.026). Median FeNO was lower in the overweight/obese as compared to normal weight group (p = 0.027). Linear regression showed an increment in FEF25–75% in the overweight/obese group as compared to normal weight after controlling for confounders namely age, height, sex, regular physical activity, medication and KIDMED score (p = 0.043; β = 11.65 units, 95% CI 0.36–22.94), although with no effect on FeNO. In conclusion, the findings of this study suggest that excess body weight could impact pulmonary dynamics in childhood asthma.

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Fig. 1

Abbreviations

BMI:

Body mass index

FEV1 :

Forced expiratory volume in 1 s

FVC:

Forced vital capacity

FEV1/FVC:

Ratio of forced expiratory volume in 1 s and forced vital capacity

PEF:

Peak expiratory flow

FEF25–75% :

Mid expiratory flow 25–75% vital capacity

FeNO:

Fractional exhaled nitric oxide

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge Basilopoulos and Sklavenitis supermarkets for the provision of coupons and fish to disadvantaged families.

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. The first author is supported by the Australian Post Graduate Award PhD Scholarship administered by La Trobe University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Dietetics, Human Nutrition & Sport, School of Allied Health, Human Services & Sport, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia

    Maria Michelle Papamichael & Catherine Itsiopoulos

  2. Department of Public Health, School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia

    Bircan Erbas

  3. National & Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece

    Charis Katsardis

  4. European Institute of Nutritional Medicine, Rome, Italy

    Dimitris Tsoukalas

  5. College of Science, Health, Engineering and Education, Murdoch University, Perth, Australia

    Catherine Itsiopoulos

Authors
  1. Maria Michelle Papamichael
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  2. Charis Katsardis
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  3. Dimitris Tsoukalas
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  4. Bircan Erbas
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  5. Catherine Itsiopoulos
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Contributions

MMP conceptualized, designed and drafted the manuscript, collected data and performed the statistical analyses. CI was in charge and co-ordinated the study. BE supervised the statistical analyses and interpretation of data. All co-authors critically revised, edited the manuscript and approved the final version as submitted. The authors confirm that the article is the authors’ original work, has not received prior publication, and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere.

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Correspondence to Maria Michelle Papamichael.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in this study involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institution (La Trobe University Human Ethics Committee, HEC 16-035) and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in this study.

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Papamichael, M.M., Katsardis, C., Tsoukalas, D. et al. Weight Status and Respiratory Health in Asthmatic Children. Lung 197, 777–782 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00408-019-00273-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00408-019-00273-w

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