Association of Exercise-Induced Bronchospasm with Obesity

Abstract

Exercise-induced bronchospasm (EIB) is present in many patients with asthma or with a family history of atopy. A review was made of exercise provocation testing performed on 37 children ages 5 to 17 years. Maximal forced expiratory maneuvers were performed before and serially every 3 minutes after a 7-min run/walk. A positive result was defined as a fall of at least 15% in FEV, or PEFR or 25% in FEF25-75 at some point within 20 min postexercise. A total of 27 out of 37 patients in this select group had positive tests (73%), with a mean fall in FEF25-75 of 31.9%. Of these 27 children with EIB, 16 had a history of atopy, 23 had clinical symptoms of EIB, and 21 were overweight. Of the 12 nonatopic children with EIB, 9 were overweight, with a mean fall in FEF25-75 of 32.1%. These 9 came from a total pool of 10 overweight, nonatopic children (90%). Being overweight was associated with a high incidence of EIB independent of a history of atopic disease.