Purpose : The prevalence of asthma and allergic diseases is on the increase and that of obesity is on the continuous increase all over the world. There are recent studies on the association between asthma and obesity, which are still controversial. This study aimed at identifying the effect of obesity on atopy and bronchial hyperresponsiveness in children.
Methods : This study was conducted with 443 subjects ranging from six to 15 years of age, and consisted of 283 boys and 160 girls. They went through pulmonary function tests and methacholine challenge tests with their eosinophil counts within blood, total serum IgE levels, serum eosinophil cationic protein(ECP) levels, heights, and weights measured. After determining body mass index(BMI), BMI percentiles were determined by using a BMI percentile curve based on gender and age. After the classification on the basis of the 85th, 90th, and 95th BMI percentiles, a comparison was made in frequencies of atopy, total serum IgE, eosiniphil counts within blood, and serum ECPs as well as in frequencies of bronchial hyperresponsiveness for the total group, the boys, and the girls, respectively.
Results : Among the groups classified by BMI percentiles, there was no significant differences in total serum IgE, eosinophil counts within blood, and serum ECPs. There also was no significant differences in bronchial hyperresponsiveness or pulmonary functions among them. Effect of atopy and pulmonary function test variables on BMI did not show any statistical significance in boys, girls or the total group.
Conclusion : There was domestically no association between obesity and atopy and bronchial hyperresponsiveness among children.ope