Overweight Girls and Underweight Boys More Likely To Develop Asthma in Adulthood

05 Sep 2016 --- New data has revealed that childhood body mass index could be linked to a higher rate of hospital admissions for asthma in early adulthood, but overweight BMI rates increase the risk of asthma in women, while underweight BMI rates increase the risk in men.

Researchers from the Copenhagen School Health Records Registry and the Danish National Patient Registry, analyzed data on BMI measurements taken annually (age 7-13 years) in over 300,000 schoolchildren to hospital admissions for asthma in early adulthood among the same group.

The analysis showed that risk of asthma admission was significantly higher for overweight than for normal and underweight women, with the strongest link seen with the BMI measurements taken at the age of 13.

However, while overweight women had a 39% increased relative risk of asthma admission, men who were underweight in childhood had a higher risk of asthma admission in early adulthood compared to men with normal BMI. The strongest link was seen with the BMI measurements taken at the age of 12, and in general, underweight boys had a 24% increased relative risk of being admitted with asthma.

Professor Charlotte Suppli Ulrik, lead author from the Hvidovre Hospital and the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, said, "Our findings present an intriguing look at the differences we see between men and women when we identify predictors of asthma among children.” 

She continued, adding: “This could be due to a range of factors including levels of physical activity, lung mechanics and different environmental factors.”

"We hope that our findings can aid clinicians identifying asthma risks in different individuals,” Suppli Ulrik concluded by saying: “By understanding which individuals are at risk of developing more severe asthma, we can encourage lifestyle changes that can help reduce this risk."