Body mass index change and atopic diseases are not always associated in children and adolescents.

BACKGROUND

Several studies have suggested an association between the increasing prevalence of allergic diseases and dietary factors.

OBJECTIVE

To prospectively explore the association between changes in body mass index (BMI) and symptoms of asthma, rhinitis, rhinoconjunctivitis, and atopic dermatitis to find out whether an increase in BMI increases the risk of developing atopic diseases in adolescence.

METHODS

Comprehensive questionnaires and anthropometric measurements were applied in a random subsample of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood phase II (1995-1996, 9 to 11 years of age) in Germany. Of these participants, 1,794 could be followed up in 2002 to 2003 in the Study on Occupational Allergy Risks (16 to 18 years of age). The associations between changes of BMI from baseline to follow-up and incident and persistent respiratory diseases and atopic dermatitis were assessed.

RESULTS

In logistic regression analyses, weight change in either direction was not statistically significantly associated with the incidence or persistence of any of the diseases of interest except for rhinitis. An increase in BMI was linked to an increased risk of incident rhinitis (odds ratio 1.9, 95% confidence interval 1.2-2.9).

CONCLUSION

These results indicate a nonsignificant trend between increased body weight and risk of atopic diseases. Aside from limitations owing to a small subgroup of obese participants and questionnaire-based asthma diagnosis, reasons might be related to an interaction between BMI and hormonal influences, age, and duration and severity of overweight. The results underline that BMI does not necessarily play a decisive role in the course of atopic diseases in all populations.