Major weight loss decreases risk of asthma attacks

New York, March 14: Substantial weight loss through procedures like bariatric surgery can significantly reduce the risk of asthma attacks - also called exacerbations - in obese patients with asthma, new research has found. "We found that in obese patients with asthma the risk of emergency department visits and hospitalisations for asthma exacerbations decreased by half in the two years after bariatric surgery," said the lead author of the study Kohei Hasegawa from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). The researcher said that for the first time it was found that significant weight reduction can reduce serious asthma-associated events. "To decrease asthma-related adverse events in the millions of obese individuals with asthma, we probably will need to develop safe, effective non-surgical approaches to achieve major weight loss," Hasegawa said. The study appeared online in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.