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Chest 2006;130;890-895
DOI 10.1378/chest.130.3.890
Study objective: To determine the modifying effects of sex and allergy history on the association
between body mass index (BMI) and asthma prevalence.
Design: Cross-sectional study of 86,144 Canadians who were 20 to 64 years of age in 2000 –2001.
Setting: A national survey.
Measurements and analysis: Self-reported asthma, allergy history, height, and weight. Logistic
regression analysis was used to detect effect modification and to adjust for covariates. Population
weight and design effects associated with complex survey design were taken into consideration.
Results: The adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for obesity associated with asthma was 1.85 (95%
confidence interval [CI], 1.65 to 2.07) for women and 1.21 (95% CI, 1.05 to 1.40) for men. One
unit of increased BMI was associated with an approximate 6% increase in asthma risk in women,
and 3% in men. A stronger association between obesity and asthma was observed in nonallergic
women than in allergic women, with the adjusted ORs being 2.53 (95% CI, 2.11 to 3.04) and 1.57
(95% CI, 1.36 to 1.82), respectively. For men, the corresponding ORs were 1.30 (95% CI, 1.05 to
1.62) and 1.18 (95% CI, 0.98 to 1.53), respectively.
Conclusions: Obesity is likely to have a larger effect on nonallergic asthma. The greater
prevalence of nonallergic asthma in women may explain the stronger obesity-asthma association
seen in women compared with men and children who have a greater prevalence of allergic
asthma. (CHEST 2006; 130:890 – 895)
Abbreviations: BMI ⫽ body mass index; CCHS ⫽ Canadian Community Health Survey; CI ⫽ confidence interval;
OR ⫽ odds ratio
*From the Departments of Epidemiology and Community Med- Manuscript received August 3, 2005; revision accepted October
icine (Dr. Chen), and Medicine (Dr. Dales), Faculty of Medicine, 20, 2005.
University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada; and the Surveillance Reproduction of this article is prohibited without written permission
and Risk Assessment Division (Mr. Jiang), Centre for Chronic from the American College of Chest Physicians (www.chestjournal.
Disease Prevention and Control, Public Health Agency of Can- org/misc/reprints.shtml).
ada, Ottawa, ON, Canada. Correspondence to: Yue Chen, PhD, Department of Epidemiol-
This work was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health ogy and Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of
Research and the Canadian Public Health Agency. Dr. Chen was Ottawa, 451 Smyth Rd, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1H 8M5; e-mail:
the recipient of a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Inves- ychen@uottawa.ca
tigator Award. DOI: 10.1378/chest.130.3.890