Abstract
OBJECTIVES: This study aims to elucidate the relationship between obesity and asthma in children and adolescents with hypertension based on the 2007-2020 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). METHODS: Weighted logistic regression models assessed obesity and asthma's effects on hypertension risk, reported as odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULTS: A cross-sectional analysis of 10,838 NHANES individuals aged 8-17 found 630 (5.8%) had hypertension, with significant differences in age, sex, poverty-to-income ratio, low birth weight, presence or absence of obesity and asthma, triglyceride concentration, fasting glucose concentration, and tobacco exposure compared to those without hypertension (p < .05). After adjusting for all covariates, children and adolescents with obesity or asthma had a higher risk of hypertension (obesity: adjusted OR 2.14, 95% CI 1.7-2.7; asthma: adjusted OR 1.43, 95% CI 1.1-1.9). Individuals with both obesity and asthma showed a significantly higher risk of hypertension compared to those without these conditions (adjusted OR 2.87, 95% CI 1.9-4.4) (p < .001). The synergistic effect of childhood obesity and asthma on hypertension risk remained robust after the stratified subgroup analysis based on age, sex, birth weight, and tobacco exposure. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that obesity and asthma exert a synergistic effect on childhood hypertension, emphasizing the need for comprehensive interventions targeting weight management and asthma control. There is a pressing need for future research to delve deeper into the mechanisms underlying the interactions between childhood asthma, obesity, and hypertension.