https://doi.org/10.4081/monaldi.2023.2581

Asthma exacerbations and body mass index in children and adolescents: experience from a tertiary care center

Vol. 94 No. 2 (2024)
Submitted: March 13, 2023
Accepted: June 8, 2023
Published: June 27, 2023
Body mass index, asthma exacerbation, lung volumes, obesity
Abstract Views: 965
PDF: 199
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Authors

Danish Abdul Aziz
drdanishaziz@gmail.com
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5402-8488
Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan.
Rameen Ata Bajwa
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7109-4871
Medical College, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.
Werdah Viquar
Medical College, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.
Fatima Siddiqui
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6203-6856
Dr. Ruth K.M Pfau Civil Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan.
Aiza Abbas
Medical College, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.

The prevalence and incidence of asthma continue to rise globally. Obesity has been identified as a potential risk factor for asthma exacerbations. The association between body mass index (BMI) and asthma is not well studied in some regions. This study aims to investigate the impact of BMI on pediatric asthmatic patients. This retrospective study was conducted at the Aga Khan University Hospital from 2019 to 2022. Children and adolescents with asthma exacerbations were included. The patients were classified into four groups based on their BMI: underweight, healthy weight, overweight, and obese. The demographic characteristics, medications used, predicted forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) measurements, asthma exacerbations per year, length of stay per admission, and the number of patients requiring high dependency unit (HDU) care were recorded and analyzed. Our results demonstrated that patients in the healthy weight category had the highest percentage of FEV1 (91.46±8.58) and FEV1/forced vital capacity (FVC) (85.75±9.23) (p<0.001). The study found a significant difference in the average number of asthma exacerbations per year between the four groups. Obese patients had the highest number of episodes (3.22±0.94), followed by the underweight group (2.42±0.59) (p<0.01). The length of stay per admission was significantly shorter for patients with a healthy weight (2.0±0.81), and there was a statistically significant difference observed in the number of patients requiring HDU care among the four groups, as well as in the average length of stay at the HDU (p<0.001). Elevated BMI is related to an increased number of annual asthma exacerbations, a low FEV1 and FEV1/FVC, an increased length of stay at admission, and an increased stay in the HDU.

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Ethics Approval

Approval was received by the Ethics Review Committee at Aga Khan University Hospital.

How to Cite

Aziz, Danish Abdul, Rameen Ata Bajwa, Werdah Viquar, Fatima Siddiqui, and Aiza Abbas. 2023. “Asthma Exacerbations and Body Mass Index in Children and Adolescents: Experience from a Tertiary Care Center”. Monaldi Archives for Chest Disease 94 (2). https://doi.org/10.4081/monaldi.2023.2581.
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