According to a study that was recently published in the Journal Of Allergy And Clinical Immunology, overweight children who have asthma are often being given prescriptions for unnecessary "rescue medications" when their shortness of breath, which could be due to poor weight-related health, is mistaken for symptoms of asthma.
Upon reviewing the lung function of children with asthma who were overweight or obese, and comparing these findings with those obtained from leaner children, researchers found that both groups had similar pulmonary action. However, they noted that the overweight children experienced their symptoms differently and that they made use of medication up to three times more than the children with normal body weight.
Overweight children tended to exhibit shortness of breath instead of coughing, which led to a greater use of Short Acting Beta Agonist (SABA) medications. These drugs are used to manage asthma and, researchers say, that the unnecessary use of such preparations in this case leads to a lower quality of life for these children. Additionally, this study reported an increase in the development of gastrointestinal symptoms in these children, as evidenced by their GERD scores.
Based on the data that was gathered during the study, the researchers noted that the early-onset of allergic asthma is caused, in part, by the GERD symptoms and heightened airflow perception of predisposed children. This leads to a sensation of breathlessness that can often be managed by the use of SABA medications. However, because of their weight and unsatisfactory health, these children tend to experience breathlessness more, implicating the increase of prescriptions for such medications.
Dr. Jason Lang, a researcher from the Division of Pulmonary Medicine at the Nemours Children's Hospital in Florida said that, "Obese children with asthma need to develop a greater understanding of the distinct feeling of breathlessness in order to avoid, not just unnecessary medication use, but also the anxiety, reduced quality-of-life, and healthcare utilization that come along with this misunderstood symptom."