title: Abdominal and general adiposity and level of asthma control in adults with uncontrolled asthma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Abdominal adiposity may be an important risk factor for uncontrolled asthma in adults, controlling for general obesity. Whether the relationship, if present, is explained by other factors (e.g., asthma onset age, sex, and/or coexisting conditions) is unclear.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To examine whether clinically applicable anthropometric measures of abdominal adiposity--waist circumference and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR)--are related to poorer asthma control in adults with uncontrolled asthma controlling for body mass index (BMI), and whether the relationship (if present) is explained by gastroesophageal reflux disorder (GERD), sleep quality, or obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) or differs by age of asthma onset or sex.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients aged 18 to 70 years with uncontrolled asthma (n = 90) participated in a 6-month randomized clinical trial.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Baseline measures included sociodemographics, standardized anthropometrics, Asthma Control Test (ACT), GERD Symptom Assessment Scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and Berlin Questionnaire for Sleep Apnea. Participants (mean [SD] age, 52 [12] yr) were racially and ethnically diverse, 67% women, and 69% overweight or obese, and 71% reported their age of asthma onset was 12 years or older. Participants had uncontrolled asthma (mean [SD] ACT score, 14.9 [3.7]) and low GERD symptoms score (0.6 [0.4]); 67% reported poor sleep quality, and 42% had a high OSA risk. General linear regression results showed that worse ACT scores were significantly associated with every SD increase in waist circumference (β = -1.03; 95% confidence interval [CI], -1.96 to -0.16; P = 0.02) and waist-to-height ratio (β = -1.16; 95% CI, -2.00 to -0.33; P = 0.008), controlling for sociodemographics. Waist-to-height ratio remained correlated with ACT (β = -2.30; 95% CI, -4.16 to -0.45; P = 0.02) after further adjusting for BMI. The BMI-controlled relationship between WHtR and ACT did not differ by age of asthma onset or sex (P > 0.05 for interactions) and persisted after additional adjustment for GERD, sleep quality, or OSA scores. Poor sleep quality was associated with worse ACT scores (β = -0.87; 95% CI, -1.71 to -0.03; P = 0.045) controlling for waist-to-height ratio, BMI, and sociodemographics.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Abdominal adiposity by waist-to-height ratio and poor sleep quality correlated with poorer asthma control in adults with uncontrolled asthma, after controlling for BMI and sociodemographics. These results warrant replication in larger studies of diverse populations. Clinical trial registered with www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT 01725945).
authors.affiliation: 1 Palo Alto Medical Foundation Research Institute, Palo Alto, California.
authors.forename: Nan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lv
authors.forename: Lan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.forename: Carlos A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Camargo
authors.forename: Sandra R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: A Sonia
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Buist
authors.forename: Peg
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Strub
authors.forename: Kari C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Nadeau
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ma
mesh_terms: D050154:Adiposity; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001249:Asthma / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D056128:Obesity, Abdominal / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015995:Prevalence; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents
keywords: abdominal obesity; asthma; body mass index; gastroesophageal reflux; sleep