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Joan Stephenson, PhD

JAMA. 2009;301(15):1529.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 130 words of the full text and any section headings.

The metabolic syndrome is associated with impaired lung function, an effect mostly related to abdominal obesity, French researchers reported (Leone N et al. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2009;179[6]:509-516).

In the cross-sectional population-based study of 121 965 individuals, the researchers found that impaired lung function was associated with metabolic syndrome. A large waist circumference (94 cm or larger in men and 80 cm or larger in women) was the strongest predictor for impaired lung function, with an odds ratio of about 2, even after adjusting for body mass index and other cardiovascular risk factors.

"Further studies are required to clarify the underlying mechanism," the researchers noted, which might involve abdominal fat giving the lungs less room to expand or inflammatory effects of the fat tissue.

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