MONDAY, March 6, 2006 (HealthDay News) -- Weight may have a bearing on asthma care: Researchers say beclomethasone, an inhaled steroid, may be better for normal-weight people asthmatics, while an alternate bronchodilator called montelukast sodium (brand name Singulair) may be better for the overweight and obese.
The study, published in the European Respiratory Journal, was funded by Merck & Co., which makes Singulair.
Researchers analyzed data from previous studies that included 3,073 people with moderate asthma. In general, overweight and obese people in these studies had more severe asthma symptoms than other people.
This analysis found that the inhaled steroid was better than Singulair at increasing the number of asthma control days (ACD) among normal-weight people, but the effectiveness of the inhaled steroid decreased with increasing body mass index.
According to the study authors, the positive impact of Singulair did not decrease in overweight and obese people.
"It is increasingly recognized that obese people are more prone to develop asthma, but there is no information about whether obesity influences people's responses to particular asthma medications," study author Dr. Marc Peters-Golden, a professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School, said in a prepared statement.
"Our findings are the first to suggest the possibility that obesity might be a factor that influences how well asthmatics respond to particular medications," he said.
More information
The American Academy of Family Physicians has more about asthma treatment.
