• Pan Yin, Shiran Tao, Zixuan Xing, Shenglin Luo, Zhiluo Yang, Zihan Xue, Ruida Yang, Luyu Liu, Shaobo Wu, and Juan Ge.
• Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710004, China.
• Postgrad Med J. 2024 Mar 27.

BackgroundObesity is a crucial risk factor for asthma. Observational studies have examined the association between abdominal obesity and asthma symptoms. This study aimed to investigate the causal relationship between visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and asthma and its potential as an independent indicator.MethodsThis study utilized data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey spanning 2011-8. Multivariable logistic regression and stratified variable selection were employed to identify associations between asthma and VAT. Moreover, a two-sample Mendelian randomization analysis, using 221 genetic variants as instrumental variables, was conducted to assess this relationship further.ResultsOur findings indicated that individuals with higher VAT levels were more likely to develop asthma. Visceral obesity remained a significant risk factor for asthma after adjusting for demographic characteristics. Genetic predictions suggest a positive association between VAT and an elevated risk of asthma (odds ratio [OR] = 1.393, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.266-1.534, and P = 1.43E-11). No significant polymorphisms were detected using the Mendelian randomization-Egger intercept test.ConclusionsThis study presents potential evidence supporting the causal role of VAT in asthma development. Furthermore, the findings from the Mendelian randomization analysis further reinforce the relationship between VAT and asthma risk.© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Fellowship of Postgraduate Medicine. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

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