title: Body mass index as predictor for asthma: a cohort study of 118,723 males and females.
abstract: The objective of the present study was to quantify the relationship between body mass index (BMI; in kilogrammes per metre squared) and asthma in middle-aged males and females, and to evaluate change in BMI as a risk factor for asthma. Asthma incidence was estimated from data on redeemed prescriptions of anti-asthmatic drugs during the period 2004-2007, retrieved from the nationwide Norwegian Prescription Database. BMI was measured during health surveys in 1994-1999 in >100,000 individuals born during 1952-1959. Change in BMI was based on self-report. Relative risks were estimated using Poisson regression. The relative risk associated with a 3-unit increase in BMI ranged from 1.14 (95% confidence interval 1.10-1.18) in current smokers to 1.27 (1.22-1.32) in never-smokers after adjusting for confounders. The relative risk associated with a 3-unit increase in BMI was 1.21 (1.16-1.26) after adjusting for confounders, including sex, smoking and BMI. Asthma incidence, as measured by anti-asthmatic drug use, was positively related to both BMI and change in BMI. For BMI, the association was stronger for never-smokers than for ex-smokers and current smokers.
authors.affiliation: Norwegian Institute of Public Health, PO Box 4404 Nydalen, N-0403 Oslo, Norway. Vidar.Hjellvik@fhi.no
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Hjellvik
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tverdal
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Furu
mesh_terms: D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001249:Asthma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D015331:Cohort Studies; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009664:Norway / Q000453:epidemiology; D016012:Poisson Distribution; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015430:Weight Gain; D015431:Weight Loss
chemical_list: D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents