Association of Body Mass Index with Asthma Severity and Pulmonary Function among Asthmatic Children

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease in respiratory system and obesity is another inflammatory disease which incidence rate is increasing. Although, many studies have been conducted on severity of asthma and its relationship with obesity, but different results have been obtained. This study aimed to determine a relationship between asthma severity, Body Mass Index (BMI) and pulmonary function in Kurdistan province, Iran.
In this cross sectional study 90 asthmatic patients referred to referral hospital in Kurdistan, North West of Iran, were selected by simple random method. BMI was calculated by dividing weight by height.Pulmonary Function Test (PFT) and bronchial-stimulation-test were used for confirmation and investigation of asthma severity. Data were analyzed using SPSS-15 and Chi-square and spearman correlation coefficient tests.
Relationship between BMI and severity of asthma (mild, medium and severe) was evaluated, there was a relationship and positive relationship between them (P0.05), but there was a significant and inverse correlation between waist size and other parameters such as (FEV1, FVC and FEF25-75) (PIt seems that attention to BMI in people with pulmonary diseases including asthma can help improve clinical and physiological conditions of the person.