Children with high total cholesterol levels are potentially at risk of developing asthma at a later age, suggests a new study presented at the recent 2023 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI).¹

Heysung Baek et al conducted a systematic literature review to determine the link between dyslipidemia and pediatric asthma. After searching the PubMed database, 11 studies on asthma and asthma in children, published between January 2000 and March 2022 were selected for the review.

Researchers noted that the studies were mainly cross-sectional and the results were “inconsistent”. They then carried out a retrospective multicenter analysis of electronic health records (EHR) from five hospitals in 29,038 children below 15 years of age who had total cholesterol levels greater than 170 mg/dL. A total of 88,823 children with normal total cholesterol levels (≤ 170 mg/dL) were selected as controls. Results showed that high total cholesterol levels significantly correlated with risk of future asthma in children younger than 15 years with pooled hazard ratio of 1.30.

Patients with asthma often have co-existing extrapulmonary traits such as obesity, physical inactivity, depression or anxiety, which have detrimental impact on clinical outcomes. These risk factors are modifiable and therefore treatable. Hence, high total cholesterol levels in children should also be considered as a modifiable risk factor for future asthma. The study also highlight the significance of individualized risk management particularly including factors outside the airways.

Reference

1. Heysung Baek, et al. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2023 Feb.;151(2 Suppl): AB161. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaci.2022.12.50