Respiratory Health and Body Mass Index-BMI in Adolescents: A Study from Prizren Region-Southern Kosovo

This study investigated the prevalence of asthma symptoms, respiratory health indicators, and their association with body mass index (BMI) categories among schoolchildren aged 13-14 years in southern Kosovo. The research was conducted as part of the Global Asthma Network (GAN) Phase I, a multicenter, cross-sectional epidemiological study based on the standardized ISAAC methodology. A total of 1,423 students were randomly selected from ten schools in the Prizren region. The findings show that respiratory symptoms were present across all BMI categories. However, adolescents who were overweight or obese more frequently reported asthma-related symptoms, including wheezing and sleep disturbances, compared with their normal-weight peers. Although many of these differences did not reach statistical significance, the observed patterns indicate a potential association between elevated BMI and increased respiratory symptom burden.These results underscore the importance of continued research on the role of weight status in shaping respiratory health among adolescents. Understanding this relationship may help inform future preventive strategies aimed at reducing asthma symptoms and improving overall respiratory outcomes in this population.