title: Body mass index change and atopic diseases are not always associated in children and adolescents.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Several studies have suggested an association between the increasing prevalence of allergic diseases and dietary factors.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To prospectively explore the association between changes in body mass index (BMI) and symptoms of asthma, rhinitis, rhinoconjunctivitis, and atopic dermatitis to find out whether an increase in BMI increases the risk of developing atopic diseases in adolescence.
  
  
  METHODS
  Comprehensive questionnaires and anthropometric measurements were applied in a random subsample of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood phase II (1995-1996, 9 to 11 years of age) in Germany. Of these participants, 1,794 could be followed up in 2002 to 2003 in the Study on Occupational Allergy Risks (16 to 18 years of age). The associations between changes of BMI from baseline to follow-up and incident and persistent respiratory diseases and atopic dermatitis were assessed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In logistic regression analyses, weight change in either direction was not statistically significantly associated with the incidence or persistence of any of the diseases of interest except for rhinitis. An increase in BMI was linked to an increased risk of incident rhinitis (odds ratio 1.9, 95% confidence interval 1.2-2.9).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results indicate a nonsignificant trend between increased body weight and risk of atopic diseases. Aside from limitations owing to a small subgroup of obese participants and questionnaire-based asthma diagnosis, reasons might be related to an interaction between BMI and hormonal influences, age, and duration and severity of overweight. The results underline that BMI does not necessarily play a decisive role in the course of atopic diseases in all populations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Sylvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kreißl
authors.affiliation: Institute and Outpatient Clinic for Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, University Hospital Munich, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Katja
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Radon
authors.affiliation: Institute and Outpatient Clinic for Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, University Hospital Munich, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Holger
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dressel
authors.affiliation: Institute of Epidemiology and Medical Biometry, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany.
authors.forename: Jon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Genuneit
authors.affiliation: Institute and Outpatient Clinic for Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, University Hospital Munich, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kellberger
authors.affiliation: Institute and Outpatient Clinic for Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, University Hospital Munich, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Dennis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Nowak
authors.affiliation: Dr von Haunersches Children's Hospital, Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Erika
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: von Mutius
authors.affiliation: Institute of Epidemiology and Medical Biometry, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany.
authors.forename: Stephan K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Weiland
authors.affiliation: Institute of Epidemiology and Medical Biometry, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany.
authors.forename: Gudrun
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Weinmayr
authors.affiliation: Institute and Outpatient Clinic for Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, University Hospital Munich, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Doris
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Windstetter
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany. Electronic address: christian.vogelberg@uniklinikum-dresden.de.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vogelberg
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D003233:Conjunctivitis, Allergic / Q000453:epidemiology; D003876:Dermatitis, Atopic / Q000453:epidemiology; D004485:Eczema / Q000453:epidemiology; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D006969:Hypersensitivity, Immediate / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012221:Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial / Q000453:epidemiology; D006255:Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal / Q000453:epidemiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires