Chest
Clinical InvestigationsPulmonary FunctionEffect of Weight Reduction on Respiratory Function and Airway Reactivity in Obese Women
Section snippets
Patients
We enrolled consecutive female subjects with a BMI > 30 kg/m2 who had entered the Ottawa Hospital Weight Loss Clinic and consented to participate in the study. We enrolled an approximately equal number of patients during the summer and winter months to try to control for potential seasonal changes in bronchial responsiveness. Patients were excluded if they had been receiving oral corticosteroids on a regular basis, if they were pregnant, if they had a history of myocardial infarction or stroke
Patient Characteristics
Fifty-eight patients were enrolled in the study, and completed baseline and 3-month assessments. Eight patients withdrew from the study before completing their 6-month follow-up assessment. The mean (± SD) age of the patients was 44 ± 13 years. Twenty-four of the 58 patients (41%) had a history of physician-diagnosed asthma (Table 1), and 21 patients (36%) were receiving medication for asthma at time of enrollment. The mean BMI of the patients entering into the study was 43.1 ± 8.8 kg/m2, and
DISCUSSION
Obesity can have a significant effect on normal lung physiology. In 1960, Naimark and Cherniak12 demonstrated that obesity is associated with reduced chest wall compliance. The reduction in chest wall compliance that is seen in obesity is reflected by a reduction in functional residual capacity, expiratory reserve volume, and vital capacity, and in patients with severe obesity, by a reduction in the TLC as well.13 The reduced chest wall compliance represents a substantial elastic load on
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This research was supported by grants from The Ontario Thoracic Society and The Asthma Society of Canada.
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