Evaluating the Association between Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) and Obesity and Asthma Severity in 6-18 Years of Old Patients Referring to the Allergy Clinic of Urmia University of Medical Sciences

Asthma is a common disease in children with a prevalence of 7-10%. Asthmatic children are also affected by other underlying diseases. Management of this co-morbidity with asthma and another underlying disease is a unique challenge. The present study was carried out to evaluate the association between reflux and obesity and asthma severity in 6-18 years asthmatic children referring to the Allergy Clinic of Urmia University of Medical Sciences. In this cross-sectional study, the inclusion criteria included having an age between 6 and 18 years and asthma. The exclusion criteria included cystic fibrosis (CF), immunodeficiency, bronchiectasis, chronic lung diseases, cerebral palsy, and patient death in the study. Demographic information (age, gender, weight, height, body mass index, and residence) and information related to the records of other diseases including (rhinitis, sinusitis, and gastroesophageal reflux) were obtained through an information collection form. The mean age of 212 patients in the study was 8.4 years. The mean body mass index of the patients was 17.04 kg/m2. Among the patients, 11.8% were obese and 4.7% were overweight. No significant association was found between disease severity and obesity (P=0.44). The prevalence of reflux among the patients was 25.5%. There was no significant association between asthma severity and reflux (P=0.06). The results of the present study revealed no significant association between the presence of reflux and the severity of asthma. Also, the most common co-morbidities were reflux and obesity.