Table 1.
Studies describing the impact of obesity on airway responsiveness in adults and children
| Authors (Year) (Ref. No.) | Subjects | Provocative Agent | Nature of Study | Outcome(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studies in adults | ||||
| Celedon et al. (2001) (9) | 7,109 male and female Chinese adults | Methacholine | Cross-sectional analysis of families with at least one asthmatic member | U-shaped relationship between BMI and symptomatic AHR in both men and women |
| Schachter et al. (2001) (71) | 1,971 Australian male and female adults | Histamine | Cross-sectional analysis of randomly selected population | No effect of BMI on AHR |
| Litonjua et al. (2002) (45) | 300 US male adults | Methacholine | Prospective study of older men who developed AHR over a 3- to 4-yr period | U-shaped relationship between initial BMI and risk of developing AHR; positive linear relationship between weight gain and development of AHR |
| Chinn et al. (2002) (12) | 11,277 European male and female adults | Methacholine | Cross-sectional analysis of randomly selected population | AHR increased with BMI in men; similar trend in women, but did not reach statistical significance |
| Sood et al. (2006) (84) | 1,725 US male and female adults | Methacholine | Cross-sectional analysis of subjects referred to a pulmonary function laboratory for testing | BMI increases AHR in nonasthmatic but not in asthmatic subjects |
| Bustos et al. (2006) (6) | 1,232 Chilean male and female adults | Methacholine | Cross-sectional analysis of randomly selected population | BMI was negatively associated with AHR |
| Nicolacakis et al. (2008) (59) | 210 US male and female adults | Methacholine | Comparison of obese and nonobese asthmatic and nonasthmatic subjects | No effect of obese on AHR in either asthmatic or nonasthmatic subjects |
| Salome et al. (2008) (68) | 49 Australian male and female adults | Methacholine | Comparison of obese and nonobese nonasthmatic subjects with normal airway responsiveness | No effect of obesity on AHR as measured by FEV1 or respiratory system resistance, whereas methacholine-induced changes in respiratory system reactance were greater in obese subjects |
| Studies in children | ||||
| Tantisera et al. (2003) (88) | 1,039 US male and female children aged 5-12 yr | Methacholine | Cross-sectional analysis of asthmatic subjects in the Childhood Asthma Management Program | No effect of BMI on AHR after adjustment for baseline lung function |
| Schachter et al. (2003) (70) | 5,993 Australian children aged 7-12 yr | Histamine | Cross-sectional analysis of randomly selected population | No effect of BMI on AHR in either boys or girls |
| Huang et al. (1999) (30) | 1,459 Taiwanese male and female adolescents | Methacholine | Cross-sectional analysis of randomly selected population | AHR increased with BMI in girls but not boys |
| Hancox et al. (2005) (24) | 1,037 male and female New Zealand children | Methacholine | Prospective study of children of a birth cohort followed through 26 yr of age | No effect of BMI on AHR in girls or boys |
| Jang et al. (2006) (33) | 677 Korean male and female children | Methacholine | Cross-sectional survey | Increased AHR in obese vs. nonobese boys but not girls |
| Kaplan and Montana (1993) (38) | 17 US children | Exercise | Comparison of obese and nonobese nonasthmatic subjects | Greater exercise-induced bronchospasm in obese vs. nonobese subjects |
| Gokbel and Atas (1999) (21) | 50 Korean adolescent boys | Exercise | Comparison of obese and nonobese nonasthmatic subjects | Greater exercise-induced bronchospasm in obese vs. nonobese subjects |
| del Rio-Navarro et al. (2000) (15) | 58 Spanish children | Exercise | Comparison of obese and nonobese asthmatic and nonasthmatic subjects | Greater exercise-induced brochospasm in obese vs. nonobese asthmatic subjects and in obese vs. nonobese nonasthmatic subjects |
BMI, body mass index; AHR, airway hyperresponsiveness; FEV1, forced expiratory volume in 1 s.