title: Association between dietary habits and asthma severity in children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate association between dietary habits and asthma severity in children.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two teaching hospitals in Brazil.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cases (n=268) were children (3-12yr) with persistent asthma and age-matched controls (n=126) were those with intermittent asthma.
  
  
  METHODS
  Dietary habits were determined based on food consumption in the past 12 months classified as frequent (≥3 times per week) or infrequent (never or <3 times per week).Nutritional status was classified into two categories according to WHO Child Growth Standards: obese: >2Z-score of BMI-for-age; non-obese: ≤2Z-score of BMI-for-age.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After adjusting for confounding factors, maternal smoking during pregnancy, preterm birth and obesity were significantly associated with persistent asthma, with adjusted ORs (95% CI) of 2.11 (1.08- 4.13), 2.61(1.07-6.35) and 2.89 (1.49-5.61), respectively. No significant association was observed between frequency of consumption of specific foods, food groups, or dietary pattern (pro- or contra-Mediterranean diet) and the severity of asthma.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study did not find a significant association between dietary habits and asthma severity in children. Maternal smoking during pregnancy, preterm birth and obesity were independent factors associated with persistent asthma.
authors: School of Nutrition, Federal University of Pelotas; *Postgraduate Program in Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Federal University of Rio Grande, Rio Grande; and #Faculty of Medicine, Federal University of Pelotas, Pelotas; Brazil. Correspondence to: Dr Denise Halpern Silveira, Rua Raimundo Correia, 155, 96055-700- Três Vendas, Pelotas, RS-Brazil. denise_hs@hotmail.com.br.
authors: Denise Halpern
authors: DH
authors: Silveira
authors: Linjie
authors: L
authors: Zhang
authors: Silvio O M
authors: SO
authors: Prietsch
authors: Amilcare Angelo
authors: AA
authors: Vecchi
authors: Lulie Rosane Odeh
authors: LR
authors: Susin
mesh_terms: D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity; D012307:Risk Factors