Mediterranean diet and childhood asthma.
BACKGROUND
The incidence of bronchial hyperreactivity has increased to one-third of the population in developed countries, which requires the adoption of preventive and therapeutic measures. The objective of the present study was to assess the effects of a traditional Mediterranean diet on patients diagnosed with childhood asthma and determine if there is a beneficial effect from this dietary intervention.


METHODS
Prospective before-after comparison study of 50 girls and 54 boys aged 1-5 years, who were enrolled in the 1-year programme "Learning to Eat from the Mediterranean", designed to promote the adoption of a traditional Mediterranean diet. We studied the clinical and therapeutic variables and anthropometric measurements.


RESULTS
All studied symptomatic indicators (number and intensity of asthmatic attack, infections and hospital admissions) showed a positive and statistically significant evolution of bronchial hyperreactivity from the first weeks of the intervention onwards. Throughout the treatment, 32.2% of patients remained free of crisis, 35.3% of the patients only had one attack throughout the year and 24.9% had two episodes, compared to 4.73 episodes on average in the previous year. The use of inhaled corticosteroids markedly decreased from 3.92 ± 1.61 to 1.11 ± 1.09 times per patient per year (P<0.001) and that of inhaled bronchodilators decreased from 4.14 ± 1.61 to 1.12 ± 1.40 (P<0.001). As a result, the families involved in the programme reported a high level of satisfaction.


CONCLUSIONS
The adoption of a traditional Mediterranean diet could contribute significantly to the improvement of patients diagnosed with childhood asthma.
Clínica "La Palma", Ciudad Real, Spain. Electronic address: altayud@gmail.com.
F M
FM
Calatayud-Sáez
Clínica "La Palma", Ciudad Real, Spain.
B
B
Calatayud Moscoso Del Prado
Centro de Salud de Atención Primaria # 1, Ciudad Real, Spain.
J G
JG
Gallego Fernández-Pacheco
Unidad de Investigación Traslacional, Hospital General Universitario, Ciudad Real, Spain.
C
C
González-Martín
Unidad de Investigación Traslacional, Hospital General Universitario, Ciudad Real, Spain; Universidad San Pablo CEU, Madrid, Spain.
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LF
Alguacil Merino
D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001249:Asthma / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D001993:Bronchodilator Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002675:Child, Preschool; D038441:Diet, Mediterranean / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D018450:Disease Progression; D004363:Drug Utilization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011446:Prospective Studies
D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones; D001993:Bronchodilator Agents
Bronchial hyperreactivity; Childhood asthma; Dietary pattern; Dietary programme; Mediterranean diet; Nutritional assessment