December 11, 2006

Whole Grains And Fish May Protect Against Asthma
(Reuters Health)

Children who eat large amounts of whole grain products and fish may have a reduced risk of asthma, according to findings published in the December issue of Thorax.

"The rise in the prevalence of asthma in western societies may be related to changed dietary habits," Dr. H. A. Smit, of the National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, the Netherlands, and colleagues write. "Epidemiological studies in children have shown inverse associations of asthma related outcomes with intake of fruits, vegetables, dairy and whole grain products, and fish."

In the current study, the researchers examined the intake of these foods in relation to asthma in 598 Dutch children between the ages of 8 and 13 years enrolled in the International Study on Allergy and Asthma in Childhood 2 (ISAAC-2).

A parent-completed semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire was used to estimate dietary intake. Current wheeze and asthma were also determined with questionnaires, as well as data from tests on bronchial hyperresponsiveness and atopic sensitization.

Logistic regression analyses were used to examine linear associations and odds ratios (ORs) for the highest versus the lowest tertile of intake were determined. Adjustments were made in the final analysis for maternal educational level, foreign descent, and total energy intake.

"The crude prevalence of current wheeze was observed to be 19.4% in children with a low intake of both foods compared with 4.2% in children" who consumed large amounts of fish and grains, Dr. Smit's team reports. "For current asthma the crude prevalences were 16.7 and 2.8%, respectively."

Adjustment for potential confounders did not significantly alter the association of the combined intake of whole grain products and fish with the two end points.

An inverse association was observed between the intake of whole grain products and of fish and asthma. The adjusted ORs for the independent associations with whole grains and fish were 0.46 and 0.34 for current asthma and 0.55 and 0.44 for current wheeze.

The adjusted ORs for the independent associations with whole grain products and fish were 0.28 and 0.12 for atopic asthma with bronchial hyperresponsiveness and 0.31 and 0.15 for atopic wheeze with bronchial hyperresponsiveness.

No clear associations were observed between intake of citrus fruits, vegetables, and dairy products and asthma end points.

The researchers recommend prospective studies to further clarify the relationship between dietary factors and asthma, and the possible effects of diet modifications on factors such as airway inflammation.

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