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JACI Highlights - June 2006
Barros et al – Obesity and airway inflammation in asthma
Both obesity and asthma are increasing in prevalence which has led to interest in potential mechanisms linking the two epidemics. Barros et al investigate the association between obesity and asthma in the June 2006 issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. Obesity was assessed by the body mass index (BMI) and asthma airway inflammation was assessed by exhaled nitric oxide (FENO). They observed a negative association between BMI and FENO in obese asthmatics. The increased abdominal and chest wall mass causes decreased functional residual capacity and reduced lung volumes. In children, BMI had no association with FENO. Although BMI is not the standard to assess body composition, it correlates with total body fat content and has been the most widely used method to assess obesity and to monitor changes in body weight. The findings provide additional support to the hypothesized mechanical link between obesity and asthma, suggesting that a nutritional intervention should be potentially considered as an additional clinical approach in asthma management of overweight patients. In the future, studies should include more complex anthropometric measures (e.g., waist circumference, skin fold thickness, etc.) that assess total body mass distribution.
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