title: Nutritional status, adiposity and asthma severity and control in children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate association between nutritional status, adiposity and asthma severity and control in children.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a case control study at two teaching hospitals in Brazil. Cases were children (3-12 years) with persistent asthma and age-matched controls were those with intermittent asthma. Nutritional status was assessed by body mass index (BMI). Adiposity was assessed by sum of skinfolds and waist circumference (WC). Crude and adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated using conditional logistic regression or multinomial logistic regression as appropriate.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Two hundred sixty-eight cases and 126 controls were included. Obesity (>2 BMI z-score for age) was significantly associated with persistent asthma (adjusted OR 2.62; 95% CI 1.39-4.95). There was a significant linear relationship between BMI z-scores (≤1, >1 to ≤2, >2) and risk of having persistent asthma (P = 0.003 for linear trend). Children with WC >90th percentile had a higher risk of persistent asthma when compared with those with WC ≤90th percentile (adjusted OR 3.38; 95% CI 1.26-9.06). No significant difference was found in terms of nutritional status and adiposity between children whose asthma was controlled by inhaled corticosteroids and those requiring inhaled corticosteroids plus other medications for asthma control.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Obesity measured by BMI and increased abdominal adiposity are significantly associated with risk of persistent asthma but not type of controller medications.
authors: School of Nutrition, Federal University of Pelotas, Pelotas, Brazil.|Postgraduate Program in Health, Faculty of Medicine, Federal University of Rio Grande, Rio Grande, Brazil.
authors: Denise Halpern
authors: DH
authors: Silveira
authors: Postgraduate Program in Health, Faculty of Medicine, Federal University of Rio Grande, Rio Grande, Brazil.
authors: Linjie
authors: L
authors: Zhang
authors: Postgraduate Program in Health, Faculty of Medicine, Federal University of Rio Grande, Rio Grande, Brazil.
authors: Silvio O M
authors: SO
authors: Prietsch
authors: Faculty of Medicine, Federal University of Pelotas, Pelotas, Brazil.
authors: Amilcare Angelo
authors: AA
authors: Vecchi
authors: Postgraduate Program in Health, Faculty of Medicine, Federal University of Rio Grande, Rio Grande, Brazil.
authors: Lulie Rosane Odeh
authors: LR
authors: Susin
mesh_terms: D050154:Adiposity / Q000502:physiology*; D001249:Asthma / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001938:Brazil; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009752:Nutritional Status; D009765:Obesity / Q000503:physiopathology; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D055105:Waist Circumference
keywords: adiposity; asthma; body mass index; case control study; child; obesity