A case-control study of body mass index and asthma in Asian children.
BACKGROUND
The prevalence of obesity and asthma in the United States has increased in past decades. Numerous studies have focused on the relationship between the 2 factors. However, to our knowledge, this association in Asian Americans has not been extensively studied.


OBJECTIVE
To assess the association between body mass index (BMI) and asthma in an Asian American pediatric population.


METHODS
We conducted a case-control medical record review study of 94 pediatric patients with and without asthma at Tufts-New England Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts. The BMI of asthmatic children before and after their asthma diagnosis was compared with the BMI of children without asthma.


RESULTS
Multiple analyses showed no significant (P > .05) association between various measures of BMI and asthma in this population. After adjustment for atopic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis, and other allergies, the odds ratio in our longitudinal analysis using BMI greater than the 85th percentile for asthmatic children vs nonasthmatic children was 0.92 (95% confidence interval, 0.40-2.20).


CONCLUSIONS
Either overweight and obesity do not lead to asthma in Asian immigrant children, consistent with our results, or something about our method limited our ability to observe the association. In either case, more research in the population is needed.
Department of Public Health and Family Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 21111, USA.
Stanislav
S
Henkin
Doug
D
Brugge
Odilla I
OI
Bermudez
Xiang
X
Gao
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D001213:Asian / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001249:Asthma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000209:etiology; D015992:Body Mass Index; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003876:Dermatitis, Atopic / Q000150:complications; D005260:Female; D005512:Food Hypersensitivity / Q000150:complications; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012221:Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial / Q000150:complications; D006255:Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal / Q000150:complications; D012737:Sex Factors