The Impact of Body Mass Index on Asthma Severity and Outcomes in Pediatric Patients: Insights from a Tertiary Care Study
Keywords:
Asthma, Children, Weight, Body Mass IndexAbstract
Background: Asthma in children remains a significant global health challenge, with growing evidence of linking body weight with the disease severity. Different studies recognized obesity as a risk factor for poor asthma outcomes, the impact of undernutrition in pediatric populations remains understudied, particularly in low-resource settings. Objective: To investigate the association between body mass index (BMI) and asthma exacerbations, lung function, and clinical outcomes in children and adolescents. Methodology: This retrospective observational study was conducted at the Nishtar Medical Hospital and University, Multan, during 2022. A total of 140 asthmatic children aged 5–18 years were categorized by BMI into underweight, healthy weight, overweight, and obese groups. Clinical data, spirometry results, and hospitalization outcomes were collected and analyzed using SPSS version 25. Associations between BMI and asthma outcomes were assessed using multivariate regression with a significance threshold of p<0.05. Results: Results showed that obese children exhibited the highest annual exacerbation rate (3.4 ± 1.1) and longest hospital stays (3.3 ± 0.9 days), while underweight patients showed significantly reduced FEV1% (83.5 ± 6.3) compared to healthy-weight peers. High-dependency unit admissions were 2.3 times more frequent in obese versus healthy-weight children (80.8% vs. 60.0%, p<0.001). Lung function parameters (FEV1/FVC ratio: 69.8 ± 14.2 in obese vs. 84.9 ± 8.7 in healthy-weight) demonstrated progressive decline with BMI extremes. Conclusion: This study concluded that both obesity and underweight status significantly worsen asthma outcomes in children, with increased exacerbation rates, poorer lung function, and prolonged hospitalizations compared to healthy-weight peers. These findings highlight the urgent need for weight management strategies and nutritional interventions in pediatric asthma care.References
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