Abstract

Background: In people with asthma, adiposity is associated with more symptoms and less control of the disease whereas on those without asthma adiposity is associated with a higher risk of developing the disease. Aim: To investigate the association between asthma and adiposity markers in Chilean adults. Material and Methods: Data from 5,499 adults older than 15-years-old from the Chilean National Health Survey 2016-2017 were analyzed. Quintiles of body-mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) were used as a proxy of adiposity. The association between asthma and quintiles of BMI and WC was determined by logistic regression. Results: A higher BMI and WC was associated with a higher odds for asthma. This trend remained significant even after adjusting the models for socio-demographic factors, physical activity and smoking (Odds Ratio [OR] BMI: 1.13 [95% confidence intervals (CI): 1.04; 1.22], p < 0.01 and OR WC: 1.15 [95% IC: 1.06; 1.25], p < 0.01). Conclusions: A higher BMI and WC were positively associated with asthma.