Investigators sought to evaluate the prevalence of overtreatment with asthma medication in a cohort of children with obesity with respiratory symptoms who had been seen at a pediatric outpatient clinic.

Results of the study were published in BMC Pediatrics.

Patients between 4 and 18 years of age who were overweight or obese and had symptoms of asthma were included in the study.

The diagnosis of asthma was evaluated and was classified as no asthma, unlikely asthma, probable asthma, or confirmed asthma, according to clinical parameters and/or results of spirometry testing. A total of 338 participants were included in the analysis. Overall, 92.6% (313 of 338) of the patients had a prescription for an asthma medication.

Overtreatment was reported in 27.2% (92 of 338) of the participants, according to the definition set forth by the researchers (prescribing an asthma medication to participants with no or unlikely asthma).