Richard Siegel, MD<\/a>, the codirector of the diabetes and lipid center at Tufts Medical Center and an endocrinologist at Tufts Medicine, both in Boston. Dr. Siegel was not involved in the new study.<\/p>\n\u201cAs asthma is also a disease associated with inflammation, the increase in cytokines related to obesity may contribute to asthma in people who may be genetically susceptible,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
GLP-1 Medications May Improve Asthma Symptoms in Several Ways<\/p>\n
GLP-1 drugs can reduce weight and improve blood sugar control, both of which could improve asthma, Bloom says. The weight loss linked with GLP-1 medications may help to reduce bodily inflammation, including in the airways, Johannes says.<\/p>\n
\u201cFurthermore, there are GLP-1 receptors in the lungs, so there is a question whether GLP-1 medications can have a direct effect on the lungs independent of weight loss,\u201d Johannes says.<\/p>\n
But doctors emphasize that these are only theories at this point.<\/p>\n
The Study Has Strengths and Limitations<\/p>\n
The study has not yet been peer-reviewed or published, which is the gold standard in research. It\u2019s also an observational study, making it difficult to prove cause and effect. Instead, the results only demonstrate a link between the medications and fewer breathing episodes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe still need mechanistic studies and clinical trials to understand exactly how [GLP-1s] work and how much of the benefit is due to weight loss versus other effects,\u201d Bloom says.<\/p>\n
GLP-1s Won\u2019t Erase the Need for an Asthma Inhaler<\/p>\n
Steroid inhalers remain the first-line treatment for asthma. But other treatments can influence symptoms.<\/p>\n
\u201cAsthma is influenced by both genetic and environmental factors,\u201d Siegel says. He notes that avoiding allergens and environmental triggers, along with optimal nutrition and exercise, may help with symptoms of the condition. Inhalers and oral and injectable medications typically help with inflammation as well, Siegel says. GLP-1 medications may play a role, too, but more research is needed.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople with asthma should not start GLP-1 receptor agonists specifically for their lung condition outside current prescribing guidance,\u201d Bloom says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"How Obesity Affects AsthmaObesity is a significant risk factor for asthma, worse asthma symptoms, and poor asthma control,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":594441,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[134,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-594440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-health","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/594440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=594440"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/594440\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/594441"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=594440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=594440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=594440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}