Obesity raises all-cause, cardiovascular death risks in asthma

For adults with asthma, obesity but not overweight poses an increased risk of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, according to a study.

The study included 1,957 participants with an age range between 19 years and 72 years recruited in Norrbotten county, Sweden. Of these, 940 (48.0 percent, mean age 41.2 years) had normal weight, 689 (35.2 percent, mean age 48.7 years) were overweight, and 328 (16.8 percent, mean age 49.1 years) had obesity.

Over a follow-up of 34 years, 685 participants died, among whom 669 had a registered cause of death. The causes of death were as follows: respiratory mortality in 84 participants (12.3 percent), cardiovascular mortality in 262 (38.2 percent), cancer mortality in 160 (23.4 percent), and other mortality in 163 (23.8 percent). The most common cause of death was ischaemic heart disease (n=155, 22.7 percent of total deaths), followed by cerebrovascular disease (n=53, 7.7 percent) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD; n=52, 7.6 percent).

Cox proportional hazard models showed that obesity was associated with heightened risks of all-cause mortality (hazard ratio [HR] 1.26, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.03–1.54) and cardiovascular mortality (HR, 1.43, 95 percent CI, 1.03–1.97). Obesity had no significant association with either respiratory or cancer mortality.

Meanwhile, overweight did not contribute to an increase in the risk of all-cause or any cause-specific mortality category.