Early BMI Management Linked to Better Lung Health in Adulthood, finds study

Researchers have found that having a normal body mass index during childhood might protect one later on from lung health issues. According to results from a Swedish BAMSE birth cohort, the researchers were following participants’ track of BMI from birth until 24 years and identified that specific BMI trajectories had an impact on lung function outcomes as young adults. The study was conducted by Gang Wang and colleagues which was published in The European Respiratory Journal.

So far, only a few studies investigated the effects that trajectories of growth in BMI have on lung health over the lifecycle. To this end, a long-term dataset from the BMI cohort known as BAMSE study was followed from birth to young adulthood. Six BMI development groups were identified and differing trajectories in weight progression with associated lung function outcomes at ages 8, 16, and 24 years could be observed. This approach provided a holistic view on different BMI patterns and their impacts on respiratory health outcomes at these developmental stages.

In the present prospective study, researchers applied latent class mixture modeling to classify BMI z-scores for 3,204 individuals with four or more records of BMI from birth through age 24. Lung function was assessed at ages 8, 16, and 24 by pre-bronchodilator (BD) spirometry. On entry at age 24, they added analysis with post-BD spirometry, multiple-breath nitrogen washout for lung clearance index (LCI) and urinary metabolomics.

  • Accelerating Increasing BMI Group showed significant worsening in both pre- and post-BD FEV1/FVC ratio z scores (β=-0.26, 95% CI [-0.44, −0.08] and -0.22, [-0.39, -0.05], respectively), as well as a higher LCI score of 0.30 (95% CI [0.22, 0.42]) at age 24.

  • Persistent High BMI Group had decreased growth of both FEV1 and FVC z scores between ages 16 and 24 (-0.24, [-0.42, −0.05] and −0.27, [-0.45, −0.01], respectively) and increased LCI at age 24 (0.20, [0.03, 0.39]) to represent that impaired lung function growth and respiratory efficiency.

  • The Accelerated Resolving BMI Group had fewer impairments to lung function, signifying that stabilizing BMI after rises might have muted adverse impacts on control of respiration.

  • The Persistent Low BMI Group had lower FEV1 and FVC from age 8 through 24 years of age, signifying lower lung capacity and lung function growth with age.

  • Metabonomic correlations and implications on lung health

  • Associations were demonstrated between histidine-related metabolites and both pre- and post-BD FEV1 (using a hypergeometric FDR of 0.008 and <0.001, respectively).

In conclusion, this study suggests that monitoring growth patterns in BMI during childhood and adolescence can become in itself a critical factor in supporting long-term respiratory health. The achievement of a normal BMI trajectory through early intervention may reduce the risk of lung function impairments, therefore reinforcing the critical importance of early, proactive health management during childhood.

Reference:

Wang, G., Hallberg, J., Merid, S. K., Kumar, A., Klevebro, S., Habchi, B., Chaleckis, R., Wheelock, C. E., Hernandez-Pacheco, N., Ekström, S., Janson, C., Kull, I., Bergström, A., & Melén, E. (2024). Body mass index trajectories from birth to early adulthood and lung function development. The European Respiratory Journal: Official Journal of the European Society for Clinical Respiratory Physiology, 2400298. https://doi.org/10.1183/13993003.00298-2024

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