Asthma meds work less in overweight patients

A new research at National Jewish Health in Denver shows that the inhaled steroids that are often used to treat asthma don’t work as well in the overweight or obese.

According to study conclusion, the combination of obesity and asthma appears to do something to limit the pathways by which steroids reduce inflammation. In fact, the treatments are 40 percent less effective in these patients than in those of a healthy weight.

Why the difference occurs is not known. But researchers speculate that obesity is associated with increasing inflammation in the body. It may be that the same processes that increase inflammation leading to diabetes and cardiovascular disease may also be implicated in modifying steroid effects.

The study was published in the first October issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.