Lifestyle-Associated Metabolite Signatures and Late-Onset Asthma Risk

Strategic Insights -

Research from Peking University in Beijing, People's Republic of China, has identified a link between unhealthy lifestyle behaviors and the risk of late-onset asthma. The study, published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, analyzed data from the UK Biobank population and the China Kadoorie Biobank cohort to determine the association between lifestyle-related metabolites and asthma risk. The results indicate that individuals with an unfavorable metabolic signature have a 77.0% increased risk of developing asthma compared to those with a favorable metabolic signature.

Key Takeaways:

  • The study found a significant link between unhealthy lifestyle behaviors and the risk of late-onset asthma, with 159 plasma metabolites related to healthy lifestyle scores and 103 associated with incident asthma risk.
  • Nine metabolites were selected and incorporated into an asthma risk prediction model, significantly improving its predictive performance (Area under the curve: 0.812 vs. 0.758).
  • Individuals with an unfavorable metabolic signature exhibited a 77.0% increased risk (hazard ratio [HR] 1.770, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.634-1.918) of developing asthma compared to those with a favorable metabolic signature.
  • A stronger effect was observed in females, with a hazard ratio of 1.914 (95% CI 1.729-2.118).
  • The predictive model and metabolic score were validated in both internal and external cohorts.

Statistics:

  • 198,607 participants were included in the study.
  • 159 plasma metabolites were significantly related to healthy lifestyle scores.
  • 103 metabolites were associated with incident asthma risk.
  • 9 metabolites were selected for the asthma risk prediction model.
  • The predictive performance of the model improved by 5.4% (from 0.758 to 0.812).
  • The hazard ratio for unfavorable metabolic signature was 1.770 (95% CI 1.634-1.918).
  • The hazard ratio for females was 1.914 (95% CI 1.729-2.118).

Sources:

  • Lifestyle-associated metabolite signatures and the risk of late-onset asthma. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 2025.
  • Peking University. Dept. of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Beijing 100191, People's Republic of China.
  • UK Biobank. (www.ukbiobank.ac.uk)
  • China Kadoorie Biobank. (www.ckbphc.org.cn)
  • Mosby-elsevier. (www.elsevier.com)