The role of treatment patterns and body mass index in asthma management: a case-control study

Abstract

This study aimed at comparing the effects of different treatment approaches on asthma, by also focusing on the impact of obesity on these treatment approaches. A total of 100 asthma patients were recruited (along with a control group of 100 individuals) in order to determine the effect of various therapies on pulmonary function parameters, including forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), their ratio (FEV1/FVC), and peak expiratory flow. All study participants were recruited from Marjan Medical City (Iraq) by the haematology department, from March to December 2023. The majority (95%) of the obese patients used a budesonide / formoterol Turbuhaler, which had better efficacy than montelukast and steroids in terms of enhancing their pulmonary function. A lower FEV1/FVC was inversely associated with increased body mass index (BMI), thereby indicating that an increased BMI worsens airway obstruction. Moreover, the adequacy of the prescribed treatments varied considerably regarding the obesity of the patients. However, based on this measurement, only 27% of the study’s patients were considered to be well-controlled. These findings underline the need to individualize asthma treatment plans with a view of targeting both respiratory disorders and obesity as vital elements of a strategy to both enhance the management of the condition and the lung functions. Therefore, obesity and asthma cross-modification strategies should adopt a more encompassing system of treatment and management.