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Asthma and Three Colinear Comorbidities: Obesity, OSA, and GERD
Meghan D Althoff1, Alexander Ghincea2, Lisa G Wood3
1Division of Pulmonary Sciences and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine, Aurora, Colo.
Abstract:
Asthma is a complex disease with heterogeneous phenotypes and endotypes that are incompletely understood. Obesity, obstructive sleep apnea, and gastroesophageal reflux disease co-occur in patients with asthma at higher rates than in those without asthma. Although these diseases share risk factors, there are some data suggesting that these comorbidities have shared inflammatory pathways, drive the development of asthma, or worsen asthma control. This review discusses the epidemiology, pathophysiology, management recommendations, and key knowledge gaps of these common comorbidities.
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