A Dyadic Growth Modeling Approach for Examining Associations Between Weight Gain and Lung Function Decline

Area of Science:

• Pulmonary Medicine
• Epidemiology
• Public Health

Background:

• The interplay between body weight and respiratory health is not fully understood.
• Obesity is a growing public health concern with potential systemic effects, including on lung function.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the longitudinal relationship between changes in body mass index (BMI) and lung function decline.
• To determine if individuals with faster BMI increases experience more rapid decreases in FEV1 and FVC.

Main Methods:

• Dyadic multilevel linear modeling was used on data from 9,115 adults across 5 US cohort studies (1983-2018).
• Paired measurements of BMI and lung function (FEV1, FVC, FEV1:FVC ratio) over at least 3 visits were analyzed.
• Models adjusted for sociodemographic and smoking-related factors.

Main Results:

• Steeper increases in BMI were significantly associated with faster declines in FEV1 (r=-0.16) and FVC (r=-0.26).
• Conversely, steeper BMI increases were linked to slower declines in the FEV1:FVC ratio (r=0.11).
• Residual correlations indicated further interdependence between BMI and lung function.

Conclusions:

• Greater rates of weight gain are associated with greater rates of lung function loss.
• These findings highlight the detrimental impact of increasing body weight on respiratory capacity over time.