Obesity is Associated with Asthma in Patients from an Underserved Low Physician to Patient Ratio Area in a New York Pediatric Emergency Department

Objective: To determine the degree of association between asthma and obesity based on body mass index (BMI) percentile categories in a low physician to patient ratio setting.Methods: Data were studied for children with asthma (n=75) and control group (n=75). Body mass index (BMI) percentile categories were classifed into underwight, normal, overweight, and obese. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine association of body mass index (BMI) percentile categories along with relevant covariates for a diagnosis of asthma. Results: Those with asthma had 48.0% classified as obese. The obese BMI percentile category was significantly associated with a diagnosis of asthma (OR:6.34, 95% CI: 2.60, 15.44, p<0.001). Also, younger age was significantly associated with a diagnosis of asthma (OR:0.89, 95% CI:0.83, 0.96, p=0.001)Conclusion: Obesity is associated with a diagnosis of asthma. Public health interventions should target low physician to patient ratio settings to address the potentially negative relationship of obesity to asthma.