Original scientific paper
GENDER DIFFERENCES IN RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BODY MASS INDEX AND ASTHMA
Marina Lampalo
; University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Clinic of Lung Diseases Jordanovac, Department of Allergic and Inflamatory Lung Diseases, Zagreb, Croatia
Marjeta Majer
; University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Clinic of Lung Diseases Jordanovac, Department of Allergic and Inflamatory Lung Diseases, Zagreb, Croatia
Nikola Ferara
; University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Clinic of Lung Diseases Jordanovac, Department of Allergic and Inflamatory Lung Diseases, Zagreb, Croatia
Milan Milošević
; University of Zagreb, School of Medicine, Andija Štampar School of Public Health, Zagreb, Croatia
Marija Barišić Kutija
; University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Clinic of Ophtalmology, Zagreb, Croatia
Irena Jukić
; Croatian Institute of Transfusion Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
Background: Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases in the world. Obesity is the most common comorbidity of
asthma and is connected to incidence and course of the disease. Obesity is associated with non-allergic asthma phenotype, but t his
relation could be influenced by gender. The aim of our study was to determine the relationship between BMI and asthma and to
explore possible gender differences.
Subjects and methods: Study included 149 patients with asthma (examined group) and 153 healthy blood donors (control
group). Data from the medical records of patients with asthma were used, and all included subjects had their BMI calculated usi ng
standard formula. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics methods. Data with non-parametric distribution were analysed
with Mann-Whitney U test and showed through medians with corresponding interquartile ranges. Statistical significance of BMI
differences between non-allergic asthma, allergic asthma and control groups were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance -
ANOVA. The results were interpreted at a significance level of P<0.05.
Results: The comparison between median BMI values of two groups shows that examined group of patients with astma has
significantly higher median BMI value in comparison with control group (P=0.035). Correlation was stronger for women than men
(P=0.002 vs P=0.898). Incresed BMI of the examined group of patients with asthma was not asociated with non-allergic asthma
(P=0.085). However, when stratified according to gender, there was a strong association of increased BMI with non-allergic asth ma
in women (P<0.001).
Conclusion: Patients with asthma in our study have higher BMI in comparison to healthy individuals, which contributes to
hypothesis that BMI is a risk factor for development of asthma. We found that possible effect that BMI has on asthma is stronge r in
women, since there was a strong association between increased BMI and non-allergic asthma only in women.
Keywords
asthma; body mass index; gender
Hrčak ID:
269459
URI
Publication date:
21.12.2019.
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