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Boys with high body masses have an increased risk of developing asthma: findings from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY)

International Journal of Obesity volume 30, pages 6–13 (2006)Cite this article

Abstract

Objective:

To determine the relation between body mass index and the development of asthma in children.

Design:

Prospective study of 4393 asthma-free children followed for up to 14 years.

Setting:

Children of participants in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth.

Methods:

Analysis was limited to children who were followed from birth and were asthma-free during the first 24 months of life. The outcome was the development of asthma during follow-up (incident asthma). Body mass index (BMI) was our main predictor of interest. Survival analyses, using time to development of asthma as the main endpoint, were stratified by sex and controlled for race/ethnicity, poverty status, and prenatal maternal smoking.

Results:

Asthma developed in 218 (5.0 %) children during the follow-up period. The relation between BMI and incident asthma varied by sex. A BMI ⩾85th percentile at age 2–3 years was a risk factor for subsequent asthma development in boys (hazard ratio (HR) 1.6 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.1, 2.4) but not girls (HR 0.8, 95% CI 0.5, 1.4). Similarly, boys with BMIs always ⩾85th percentile were at increased risk for subsequent asthma development (HR 2.4, 95% CI 1.4, 4.4) but not girls (HR 1.5, 95% CI 0.7, 2.9).

Conclusion:

Boys with high body masses may be at an increased risk for developing asthma.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, University of Kentucky Medical Center, Lexington, KY, USA

    D M Mannino

  2. Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects, Air Pollution and Respiratory Health Branch, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA

    J Mott, J M Ferdinands, M Friedman, H M Greves & S C Redd

  3. EMNet Coordinating Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    C A Camargo Jr

Authors
  1. D M Mannino
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  2. J Mott
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  3. J M Ferdinands
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  4. C A Camargo Jr
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  5. M Friedman
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  6. H M Greves
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  7. S C Redd
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Correspondence to D M Mannino.

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Mannino, D., Mott, J., Ferdinands, J. et al. Boys with high body masses have an increased risk of developing asthma: findings from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY). Int J Obes 30, 6–13 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0803145

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0803145

Keywords

  • asthma
  • body mass index
  • children

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