Obesity predicts mortality stronger in adult-onset asthma than in age- and sex-matched controls

<bold>Background:</bold> Obesity associates with mortality both in the general population and among adults with asthma, but less is known on whether this association is stronger in adults with asthma than in those without when taking age and sex into account. <bold>Objective:</bold> To explore the association between obesity and mortality in adult-onset asthma. <bold>Methods:</bold> During 1995-1999, 309 adults (19-61y, 65% women) with newly onset asthma were identified in primary care and referred to the Obstructive Lung Disease in Northern Sweden (OLIN) Studies where a diagnosis of asthma and bronchial variability was confirmed. Sex and age matched controls were also included. Body Mass Index (BMI) at baseline was categorized into normal weight, underweight, overweight and obesity. Mortality was linked until November 2023. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to calculate hazard ratios (HR) for BMI categories (normal weight as reference) adjusted for smoking habits, age and sex, among cases and controls. <bold>Results:</bold> The number of deaths/1000 person-years during follow-up by BMI category are illustrated in Figure 1. Among cases, the HR (95%CI) was 3.6 (0.7-19.2) for underweight, 1.7 (0.6-5.2) for overweight, and 3.5 (1.1-11.7) for obesity. The corresponding figures for controls were 1.0 (0.2-4.8), 0.9 (0.3-2.6) and 1.2 (0.3-4.4). <bold>Conclusion:</bold> Obesity predicts mortality stronger in adult-onset asthma than in age- and sex-matched controls. <fig><object-id>erj;64/suppl_68/PA489/F1</object-id><object-id>F1</object-id><object-id>F1</object-id><graphic></graphic></fig>