The relationship between relative fat mass and asthma exacerbation: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways with a significant global disease burden. The relationship between Relative Fat Mass (RFM) - a novel obesity metric - and asthma exacerbation remains poorly characterized. This study aimed to determine whether RFM independently associates with exacerbation risk in asthma patients.

METHODS

We conducted a cross-sectional study involving 1,770 adult participants from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Participants were stratified by RFM tertiles (T1-T3). We used logistic regression models to assess the association between RFM and asthma exacerbation. Analyses were performed using both continuous and categorical RFM definitions, with progressive covariate adjustment across four models.

RESULTS

Significant differences were observed between stable asthma and asthma exacerbation groups in terms of sex, education level and family history of asthma. After full covariate adjustment, RFM remained significantly associated with asthma exacerbation, confirming RFM as an independent predictor of asthma exacerbation (OR = 1.03, 95%CI: 1.01 ∼ 1.05, p = 0.001), with higher RFM tertiles (T3:OR = 1.59, 95%CI: 1.09 ∼ 2.31, p = 0.016) showing increased risk. Curve fitting confirmed a linear dose-response relationship (p = 0.003).

CONCLUSION

This study revealed an independent positive association between RFM and asthma exacerbation risk, suggesting its potential utility for risk stratification.