Asthma and COPD in an Italian adult population: Role of BMI considering the smoking habit

Our study confirms the importance of smoking status in patients with COPD, but not in those with asthma. Moreover, it demonstrates that the increase in BMI is frequently associated with the diagnosis of COPD or asthma, suggesting that the probability of suffering from COPD or asthma increases with the increase in body weight regardless of the smoking status. The association between an increase in BMI appears to be greater in women than in men. Our data also show that underweight is significantly associated with COPD, but only in men, while being underweight apparently protects from the possibility of suffering from asthma.