Children with asthma who are exposed to secondhand smoke are more likely to be obese, according to study results. The researchers reported that children exposed to smoke are also more likely to have severe asthma and use health care less.
Mayo Clinic researchers conducted a retrospective nested matched case-and-control study on 944 children aged 5 to 18 years enrolled in the Pediatric Asthma Management Program to identify the difference in comorbidities between children with asthma exposed or not exposed to secondhand smoke (SHS).
Children with asthma exposed to SHS had a higher overall BMI percentile (69.7) than children not exposed to SHS (63.1). The researchers reported that children without exposure to SHS (30%) had mild to persistent asthma more than those exposed (23%) to SHS.
Asthmatic Kids Exposed to Secondhand Smoke More Likely to be Obese
