The prevalence of atopy and asthma among university freshmen in Seoul, Korea: association with obesity.

The aims of this study were to investigate the prevalence of atopy, asthma, and obesity in university freshmen and to determine whether leptin is associated with bronchodilator reversibility in obesity. A total of 537 university freshmen completed International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Children (ISAAC) questionnaire and underwent skin prick testing and bronchodilator reversibility test. The prevalences of asthma, wheeze, and atopy were 10 (1.9%), 84 (15.6%), and 198 (36.9%), respectively. The mean (+/- SD) bronchodilator response (5.1 +/- 4.4%) was higher in the overweight/obese men than in the normal male subjects (3.7 +/- 3.2%, p < 0.05). The mean leptin level in the overweight/obese men was 5.55 +/- 3.48 ng/mL, which was significantly higher than that (2.78 +/- 1.65 ng/mL) of the normal male subjects. The prevalence of asthma among university freshmen is seriously under-diagnosed and leptin may play a role in bronchodilator reversibility in overweight/obese young men.