**2.7 Asthma**

Obesity is a risk factor for asthma. Many inflammatory markers (e.g. interleukins 5, 6, 13, 17) implicated in the pathogenesis and disease activity of asthma are increased with obesity [28]. WL post LSG results in significantly improved asthma symptoms. A prospective study of 78 subjects compared asthma patients undergoing BS with obese controls. In this study, BS including LSG, resulted in significantly improved small airway function, airway hyperresponsiveness, asthma control and quality of life (QoL) [29]. There was also a decrease in systemic inflammation and bronchial inflammation (mast cell counts) one year after BS [29]. Asthma medication usage was also reduced following LSG [30]. A retrospective analysis of 751 asthmatic patients, including 80 LSG patients, found that the number of prescribed asthma medications among all procedures significantly decreased by 27% at 30 days post-surgery, 37% at 6 months, 44% at 1 year, and 46% at 3 years [30].
