Childhood Body Mass Index Tied to Later Lung Health

FRIDAY, Nov. 8, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Childhood body mass index (BMI) is associated with lung health later in life, according to a study published online Oct. 28 in the European Respiratory Journal.

Gang Wang, M.D., Ph.D., from the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, and colleagues investigated the influence of BMI trajectories on lung function covering the entire growth period. The analysis included data from the Swedish BAMSE birth cohort, with 3,204 individuals followed for 24 years.

The researchers identified six distinct BMI development groups. The accelerated increasing BMI group showed reduced pre- and post-bronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1)/forced vital capacity (FVC) ratio z scores (β = −0.26 and −0.22, respectively), along with an elevated lung clearance index (LCI; 0.30) at 24 years compared with the stable normal BMI group. At 24 years, the persistent high BMI group showed lower FEV1 and FVC z scores growth between 16 and 24 years (−0.24 and −0.27, respectively) and elevated LCI (0.20). These impairments were not seen in the accelerated resolving BMI group. The persistent low BMI group showed persistently decreased FEV1 and FVC from 8 to 24 years, as well as decreased lung function growth. 

"These results imply that early interventions aimed at achieving a normal BMI during childhood may contribute to improved lung health later in life," the authors write.

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