Association of Body Composition with Pulmonary Function in Ningxia: The China Northwest Cohort

Pengyi Hou; Yangyang Pi; Ziming Jiao; Xueyan Tian; Wenxuan Hu; Yuhong Zhang; Yi Zhao; Faxuan Wang

doi:10.2147/DMSO.S383098

Association of Body Composition with Pulmonary Function in Ningxia: The China Northwest Cohort

Diabetes Metab Syndr Obes. 2022 Oct 25:15:3243-3254. doi: 10.2147/DMSO.S383098. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Pengyi Hou^{1

2}, Yangyang Pi^{1

2}, Ziming Jiao¹, Xueyan Tian¹, Wenxuan Hu¹, Yuhong Zhang^{1

2}, Yi Zhao^{1

2}, Faxuan Wang^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ School of Public Health and Management, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, People's Republic of China.
² Laboratory of Environmental Factors and Chronic Disease Control, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, People's Republic of China.

Abstract

Background: In recent decades, obesity has become an epidemic worldwide and is a risk factor for many chronic diseases. Lung function is also a predictor of various chronic diseases. However, research results on the association between obesity and lung function are inconsistent and few studies have evaluated the association between central obesity indicators and lung function. Therefore, this study explored the correlation between central obesity and lung function.

Methods: This study is a cross-sectional study. The basic participant characteristics were collected by questionnaire. A tape measure was used to measure waist circumference (WC) and hip circumference (HC). Body fat percentage was measured using an InBody370. Lung function parameters were measured using a digital spirometer connected to a computer (Chestgraph HI-101). R (R4.0.5) software was used for data analysis. A generalized linear model was used to analyze the association between obesity and lung function.

Results: This study found that body mass index (BMI) adjusted for WC was negatively correlated with forced vital capacity (FVC) (β=-0.05 [-0.06, -0.03] in men, β=-0.05 [-0.07, -0.04] in women) and forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1)(β=-0.02 [-0.03, -0.00] in men, β=-0.03 [-0.04, -0.02] in women). Body fat percentage was negatively correlated with FVC (β=-0.01 [-0.01, -0.01] in men, β=-0.01 [-0.01, -0.00] in women).

Conclusion: Central obesity and combined central and general obesity were more strongly positively correlated with lung function. WC-adjusted BMI was negatively correlated with lung function. Body fat percentage was negatively correlated with lung function.

Keywords: body mass index; central obesity; lung function; waist circumference.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Key Research and Development Program of Ningxia (grant number:2021BEG02026) and the National Key Research and Development Project Ningxia Cohort from the China Northwest Cohort (2017YFC0907204).