Association of Overweight with Asthma Prevalence in Adolescents in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between asthma and overweight in adolescents. Methods: Cross-sectional study including 13–14-year-old adolescents in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Asthma was defined according to the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC). Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated; overweight was defined as BMI ≥ 85th percentile. The distribution of asthma and associated symptoms were compared according weight category using the χ² test for linear trend. The association between asthma and overweight, controlling for confounding variables, was studied using odds ratios (OR), confidence intervals (95% CI) and logistic regression, stratified by sex. Results: 2,858 (50.1% female) adolescents were studied; 458 (16.1%) were overweight and 13.3% asthmatic. Average BMI was higher among asthmatics (p = 0.01). When stratified, this difference remained only among girls (p = 0.03). Asthma prevalence increased with higher BMI (p = 0.02). Asthma was associated to overweight (OR = 1.51; 95% CI: 1.07–2.13), irrespective of sedentary lifestyle, smoking mother and presence of dog in the domicile, but only among the girls. Conclusions: In Rio de Janeiro adolescents, we found a positive association between asthma and overweight, exclusively among girls. This suggests that health policies related to asthma and overweight/obesity in this age group need to take sex into consideration.

Keywords :

• asthma
• obesity
• adolescents
• epidemiology
• ISAAC