Both asthma and obesity (BMI>30) are increasing in prevalence in the western world, and it has been suggested that a possible relationship between the two diseases might exist. In addition, it is recognised that gastroesophageal reflux (GER) is more common in asthmatics and obese subjects.
This has moved Maria Gunnbjornsdottir (Department of Medical Sciences: Respiratory Medicine and Allergology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden) and her colleagues located in countries of Northern Europe to contemplate if reflux might explain the relationship between onset of asthma and obesity. In a questionnaire study based on answers from 16,000 adults in Northern Europe, a relationship was found between obesity and GER at bedtime with onset of asthma and respiratory symptoms.
After adjusting for possible confounders such as smoking and gender, both obesity and reflux were found to be independent risk factors for onset of asthma.
This implies that the increase of asthma onset in obese subjects is not explained solely by an increased prevalence of reflux in obese subjects.
The authors suggest that reduction of asthma onset in adults might be possible by preventing obesity and by treating gastroesophageal reflux.