Insulin resistance associated with increased risk of developing asthma-like symptoms
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It has been suggested that insulin resistance might be linked to obesity-associated asthma, but prospective data are still lacking. The study aimed to investigate the association of obesity and insulin resistance with the incidence of asthma-like symptoms in adults. A total of 6784 subjects from a general population underwent a health examination in 1999-2001. Of these, 4561 subjects underwent follow-up 5 years later. Data on asthma-like symptoms at baseline and follow-up were retrieved via questionnaires. After adjusting for confounding factors, both obesity measurements (body mass index, waist circumference, and waist-to-hip ratio) and insulin resistance were associated with incident wheezing and asthma-like symptoms, the effect of insulin resistance being stronger than that of obesity and independent of gender. In conclusion, insulin resistance appears to be associated with increased risk of developing asthma-like symptoms, which supports the hypothesis that obesity and asthma may be linked, e.g. through inflammatory pathways also associated with insulin resistance.
Abstract
