Could a New Measurement, a New Body Shape Index, Determine the Role of Obesity and Depression in Asthma Control

Abstract

Obesity is common in asthma. Depression is thought to be one of the risk factors that increase obesi ty. It is known that depression has an effect on poor asthma control. Body Mass Index (BMI) is mostly used to define obesity. In recent years, however, the ‘A Body Shape Index’ (ABSI) based on waist circumference (WC) measurement has been developed and th e higher ABSI corresponds to a more central body volume concentration. Our aim was to examine the effect of obesity and depression on asthma control in a way that questions the usability of ABSI, which is new in abdominal obesity measurement. A total of 99 asthmatic patients aged between 18-80 years who were followed up in Chest Diseases outpatient clinics were included in the study. Demographic and medical history of the patients were recorded. Waist circumference /BMI2/3 X Length(m) 2/3 was calculated for ABSI measurement. Beck Depression Scale (BDS) and Asthma Control Test (ACT) were applied. Pulmonary Function Test was applied to all patients by the same trained person. Obese and morbidly obese patients had poor asthma control. We found that the presence of depression caused poor asthma control in all BMI groups. The poorly controlled asthma group and the obese and morbidly obese patients had higher depression scores. BMI and waist circumference were higher in the poorly controlled asthma group (p=0.002, 0.033 respectively). However, there was no significant difference between the asthma groups in terms of ABSI (p=0.529). The findings of this study indicate that depressive symptoms, increased BMI and WC were significantly associated with poor asthma control. But ABSI is no superior to BMI in detecting asthma control and depressive mood. However, we should prompt our patients to treatment and exercise, especially for abdominal obesity. We should recommend that asthma patients with depression consult a psychiatrist. In this way, we can control our asthma patients more effectively by minimizing the existing risks. © 2022, Yuzuncu Yil Universitesi Tip Fakultesi. All rights reserved.