Published in:
Open Access 01-12-2023 | Obesity | Research
Longitudinal association between adiposity changes and lung function deterioration
Published in: Respiratory Research | Issue 1/2023
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Background
The longitudinal relationship between adiposity and lung function is controversial. We aimed to investigate the long-term association between adiposity changes and lung function in a middle-aged general Asian population.
Methods
In total, 5011 participants (average age, 54 years; 45% men) were enrolled from a community-based prospective cohort. During the follow-up period (median 8 years), both spirometry and bio-electrical impedance analysis were performed biannually. Individual slopes of the fat mass index (FMI; fat mass divided by the square of height in meters) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) were calculated using linear regression analysis. Multivariate linear mixed regression analysis was used to determine the long-term association between adiposity changes and lung function.
Results
The FMI was inversely associated with forced vital capacity (FVC) (estimated: − 31.8 mL in men, − 27.8 mL in women) and forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) (estimated: − 38.2 mL in men, − 17.8 mL in women) after adjusting for baseline age, height, residential area, smoking exposure (pack-years, men only), initial adiposity indices, and baseline lung function. The WHR was also inversely associated with FVC (estimated = − 1242.2 mL) and FEV1 (estimated = − 849.8 mL) in men. The WHR-increased group showed a more rapid decline in lung function than the WHR-decreased group in both the fat-gain and fat-loss groups.
Conclusion
Adiposity was associated with the long-term impairment of lung function. Central obesity was the main driver of lung function impairment in the middle-aged general Asian population, regardless of fat mass changes.