Obesity and asthma: association or coincidence?

OBJECTIVE

Asthma and obesity are among the major causes of morbidity in childhood and adolescence. Early obesity increases the chances of chronic degenerative diseases in adults. Although the concomitance or both clinical situations are being demonstrated in various studies, the intrinsic mechanisms of this association are still very little known. Therefore, the objective of this article was to review the main studies on the association of obesity and asthma and check if there is a cause-effect relation between them.

METHODS

Systematic review based on indexed data bases MEDLINE (PubMed) and SciELO. Original articles (cross-sectional, case-control, and prospective studies) and meta-analysis published in the period that ranges from January 1998 to January 2008 were reviewed. Studies published in English, Spanish, and Portuguese were researched.

RESULTS

Although there are various studies on growing prevalence of asthma and obesity, few of them establish cause-effect relations between them. Physiopathological mechanisms and factors involved in this process are still little known.

CONCLUSIONS

Methodological rigor in future studies must seek for answers to better understand if there is association between asthma and obesity or if the relationship between both diseases is a coincidence.