(P17-003-25) Cardiometabolic and Inflammatory Profiles in Individuals With Asthma and Diabetes Comorbidity

Objectives: We hypothesized that individuals with co-occurring asthma and diabetes would exhibit distinct biomarker profiles, exacerbating adverse health outcomes compared to those with either condition alone.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES, n=21,291): Participants were categorized into four group: asthma-only (7.5%), diabetes-only (8.4%), both conditions (1.2%), and neither condition (82.9%). Survey-weighted estimates were calculated for waist circumference (WC), metabolic markers (triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), triglyceride-to-HDL ratio (TG/HDL ratio), and inflammatory markers (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP)). We compared mean biomarker estimates across the four groups using regression models, both unadjusted and adjusted for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, poverty-to-income ratio, and BMI categories.

Results: Individuals with both asthma and diabetes had the worst biomarker profiles, with higher WC, triglycerides, HOMA-IR, and TG/HDL ratio but lower LDL-C and HDL-C compared to asthma only and neither condition (all, P < 0.001). Similar patterns were observed in the adjusted models, where individuals with both diabetes and asthma exhibited the most adverse biomarker profiles, with significantly higher WC (β = 9.6 cm, p < 0.001), triglycerides (β = 48.3 mg/dL, p < 0.001), HOMA-IR (β = 5.25, p < 0.001), TG/HDL ratio (β = 1.87, p = 0.001), log10-hsCRP (β = 0.31, p < 0.001),alongside lower LDL-C (β = -14.3 mg/dL, p = 0.001) and HDL-C (β = -5.9 mg/dL, p < 0.001) compared to the group with neither condition. While the diabetes-only group exhibited similarly elevated risk profiles, the associations were less pronounced than those in the combined asthma and diabetes group in both the unadjusted and adjusted models.

Conclusions: Co-occurring asthma and diabetes are associated with high risk of metabolic and inflammatory dysregulation, highlighting the need for integrated management strategies.

Funding Sources: This study was supported by Internal funds from Indiana University.