BMI May Affect Response to Asthma Medications

Children with higher body mass indexes (BMI) and asthma may see a weaker response from corticosteroid medication, reported a study presented at the 2012 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.

Researchers evaluated 61 children with asthma, ages 2 to 18, on their BMI, daily inhaled corticosteroid dose and cellular response to the corticosteroid.  Of the participants, 56% were a healthy weight, 27% were overweight, and 24% were obese.  

“Both blood and airway cells were cultured in the presence of corticosteroids, a medication used to treat asthma. Then we studied expression of a specific gene that mediates the response to the medication,” explained Dr. Pia Hauk, MD, of National Jewish Health in Denver.

A decreased cellular response was noted with increasing BMI, which was also associated with a higher daily inhaled corticosteroid requirement. 

“Chronic inflammation, as seen in obese patients, is thought to interfere with the body’s response to corticosteroids, leading to a higher corticosteroid requirement in patients with asthma,” concluded Hauk.  “More studies are needed to find out if the response to the medication might improve if obese children with asthma lose weight. 

-Michael Potts