Food and nutrient intakes and asthma risk in young adults.
BACKGROUND
Some aspects of diet are relatively newly recognized potential risk factors for asthma, but the evidence to date is conflicting.


OBJECTIVE
The goal was to determine whether the food and nutrient intakes of adults with asthma differ from those of adults without asthma.


METHODS
This was a community-based, cross-sectional study of 1601 young adults ( +/- SD age: 34.6 +/- 7.1 y) who were initially recruited by random selection from the federal electoral rolls in Melbourne in 1999. Subjects completed a detailed respiratory questionnaire, a validated semiquantitative food-frequency questionnaire, skin-prick testing, and lung function tests, including a methacholine challenge test for bronchial hyperreactivity (BHR). A total of 25 nutrients and 47 food groups were analyzed by using multiple logistic regression with alternate definitions of asthma and atopy as the outcomes.


RESULTS
Whole milk appeared to protect against current asthma (odds ratio: 0.66; 95% CI: 0.46, 0.97), doctor-diagnosed asthma (0.73; 0.54, 0.99), BHR (0.68; 0.48, 0.92), and atopy (0.71; 0.54, 0.94). Conversely, soy beverage was associated with an increased risk of current asthma (2.05; 1.19, 3.53), doctor-diagnosed asthma (1.69; 1.04, 2.77), and BHR (1.65; 1.00, 2.71). Apples and pears appeared to protect against current asthma (0.83; 0.71, 0.98), asthma (0.88; 0.78, 1.00), and BHR (0.88; 0.77, 1.00).


CONCLUSIONS
The consumption of dairy products, soy beverages, and apples and pears, but not of nutrients per se, was associated with a range of asthma definitions. Dietary modification after diagnosis is one possible explanation for this finding. Intervention studies using whole foods are required to ascertain whether such modifications of food intake could be beneficial in the prevention or amelioration of asthma.
Woods
Rosalie K
RK
Department of Epidemiology & Preventive Medicine, Central and Eastern Clinical School, Monash University, and The Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Walters
E Haydn
EH
Raven
Joan M
JM
Wolfe
Rory
R
Ireland
Paul D
PD
Thien
Frank C K
FC
Abramson
Michael J
MJ
D000328:Adult; D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004032:Diet / Q000009:adverse effects; D005502:Food / Q000009:adverse effects; D006801:Humans; D009747:Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D011897:Random Allocation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires