ASTHMA IN OVERWEIGHT CHILDREN

Overweight children seen in the ER for an asthma flare-up are more likely to be admitted to the hospital than their non-overweight peers, according to a report in the October issue of Pediatrics. Moreover, this finding holds true regardless of illness severity.

"This is the first study in children to examine the relationship between overweight and hospital admission during asthma exacerbations," lead author Dr. Christopher L. Carroll, from connecticut Children's Hospital in Hartford.

Dr. Carroll said his team was "somewhat surprised" by the main finding. "It suggests that obese children respond more slowly to therapy for acute exacerbations."

The findings are based on a retrospective chart review of all children, older than 2 years of age, who presented with an asthma flare-up to the researchers' ER in 2005. Only children without other chronic medical conditions were included in the analysis. Overweight children were defined as being in the 95th or higher percentile of weight-for-age.

Overall, 813 children made 884 ER visits for asthma exacerbations during the study period, the authors report. Of these visits, 238 (27%) resulted in a hospital admission, including 33 (4%) ICU admissions.

Increasing asthma severity was associated with hospital admission, whereas age, gender, and poverty were not, the report indicates.

Of the ER visits made during the study, 682 (77%) involved a normal weight child and 202 (23%) involved an overweight child. On average, overweight children were older (8.5 vs. 7.3 years) and were more likely to come from an impoverished area (37% vs. 28%).

No significant differences in asthma severity or in the ER treatment received were noted between overweight and normal-weight children. Nonetheless, 34% of ER visits involving an overweight child resulted in hospital admission compared with 25% of visits made by a normal weight child (p = 0.01).

The main message for clinicians is that "overweight children with asthma have significant health-related consequences as a result of their being overweight," Dr. Carroll said.

Parents of the overweight children out there beware . One more danger of obsity