Dataset Information

Does the relationship between asthma and obesity differ by neighborhood?

ABSTRACT:

Background

Prior studies suggest that obesity may cause asthma. Obesity and asthma are prevalent in low-income urban neighborhoods, but the impact of obesity on asthma in such neighborhoods has not been examined.

Methods

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene surveyed 6119 adults age 18-54 years in 2002. Obesity was defined as body mass index > or = 30 kg/m(2) and current asthma as physician diagnosed asthma plus recent symptoms. We calculated prevalence (risk) differences (RD) and population attributable risk percents (PAR%).

Results

Obese individuals had a 2.0% (95% CI: 0.5%, 3.6%; p=0.01) higher risk of current asthma than normal weight individuals overall. Obesity was more common in low-income neighborhoods compared with middle-to-upper-income neighborhoods (23% vs. 14%, p<0.001), as was current asthma (6% vs. 4%, respectively, p=0.02). The risk of current asthma associated with obesity was similar in low-income (RD: 1.3%, 95% CI: -1.5%, 4.0%; p=0.36) and middle-to-upper-income neighborhoods (RD: 2.0%, 95% CI: 0.1%, 3.9%; p=0.04). The PAR% for asthma due to obesity was not greater in low-income (7.3%) than in middle-to-upper-income neighborhoods (7.7%).

Conclusions

It is unlikely that the excess asthma prevalence in urban low-income neighborhoods is disproportionately attributable to obesity. Instead, alternative causes of excess asthma should be sought.

SUBMITTER: Tonorezos ES

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3695444 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Does the relationship between asthma and obesity differ by neighborhood?

Tonorezos Emily S ES Karpati Adam M AM Wang Yuanjia Y Barr R Graham RG

Respiratory medicine 20080815 12

<h4>Background</h4>Prior studies suggest that obesity may cause asthma. Obesity and asthma are prevalent in low-income urban neighborhoods, but the impact of obesity on asthma in such neighborhoods has not been examined.<h4>Methods</h4>The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene surveyed 6119 adults age 18-54 years in 2002. Obesity was defined as body mass index > or = 30 kg/m(2) and current asthma as physician diagnosed asthma plus recent symptoms. We calculated prevalence (risk) ...[more]

PMID: 18707858

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Project description:OBJECTIVES:Although psychosocial stress can result in adverse health outcomes, little is known about how perceptions of neighborhood conditions, a measure of environment-derived stress, may impact obesity. The association between perceptions of neighborhood environment and obesity (defined as body mass index [BMI] ? 30 kg/m(2) ) among 5,907 participants in the Dallas Heart Study, a multi-ethnic, probability-based sample of Dallas County residents was examined. DESIGN AND METHODS:Participants were asked to respond to 18 questions about perceptions of their neighborhood. Factor analysis was used to identify three factors associated with neighborhood perceptions: neighborhood violence, physical environment, and social cohesion. Logistic regression analyses were performed to determine the relationship between each factor (higher quintile = more unfavorable perceptions) and the odds of obesity. RESULTS:Decreasing age, income, and education associated with unfavorable overall neighborhood perceptions and unfavorable perceptions about specific neighborhood factors (P trend <0.05 for all). Increasing BMI was associated with unfavorable perceptions about physical environment (P trend <0.05) but not violence or social cohesion. After adjustment for race, age, sex, income, education, and length of residence, physical environment perception score in the highest quintile remained associated with a 25% greater odds of obesity (OR 1.25, [95% CI 1.03-1.50]). Predictors of obesity related to environmental perceptions included heavy traffic (OR 1.39, [1.17-1.64]), trash/litter in neighborhood (OR 1.27, [1.01-1.46]), lack of recreational areas (OR 1.21, [1.01-1.46]), and lack of sidewalks (OR 1.25, [95% CI 1.04-1.51]). CONCLUSIONS:Thus, unfavorable perceptions of environmental physical conditions are related to increased obesity. Efforts to improve the physical characteristics of neighborhoods, or the perceptions of those characteristics, may assist in the prevention of obesity in this community.

Project description:BackgroundAsthma and obesity are both complex conditions characterized by chronic inflammation, and obesity-related severe asthma has been associated with differences in the microbiome. However, whether the airway microbiome and microbiota-immune response relationships differ between obese persons with or without nonsevere asthma is unestablished.ObjectiveWe compared the airway microbiome and microbiota-immune mediator relationships between obese and nonobese subjects, with and without mild-moderate asthma.MethodsWe performed cross-sectional analyses of the airway (induced sputum) microbiome and cytokine profiles from blood and sputum using 16S ribosomal RNA gene and internal transcribed spacer region sequencing to profile bacteria and fungi, and multiplex immunoassays. Analysis tools included QIIME 2, linear discriminant analysis effect size (aka LEfSe), Piphillin, and Sparse inverse covariance estimation for ecological association inference (aka SPIEC-EASI).ResultsObesity, irrespective of asthma status, was associated with significant differences in sputum bacterial community structure and composition (unweighted UniFrac permutational analysis of variance, P = .02), including a higher relative abundance of Prevotella, Gemella, and Streptococcus species. Among subjects with asthma, additional differences in sputum bacterial composition and fungal richness were identified between obese and nonobese individuals. Correlation network analyses demonstrated differences between obese and nonobese asthma in relationships between cytokine mediators, and these together with specific airway bacteria involving blood PAI-1, sputum IL-1β, GM-CSF, IL-8, TNF-α, and several Prevotella species.ConclusionObesity itself is associated with an altered sputum microbiome, which further differs in those with mild-moderate asthma. The distinct differences in airway microbiota and immune marker relationships in obese asthma suggest potential involvement of airway microbes that may affect mechanisms or outcomes of obese asthma.

Dataset Information

Does the relationship between asthma and obesity differ by neighborhood?

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Does the relationship between asthma and obesity differ by neighborhood?

Similar Datasets

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