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Association between dietary habits and asthma severity in children

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Abstract

Objective

To investigate association between dietary habits and asthma severity in children.

Design

Cross-sectional study.

Setting

Two teaching hospitals in Brazil.

Participants

Cases (n=268) were children (3–12yr) with persistent asthma and age-matched controls (n=126) were those with intermittent asthma.

Main outcome measures

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.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Nutrition, Federal University of Pelotas, Rua Raimundo Correia, 155, 96055-700-Três Vendas, Pelotas, RS, Brazil

    Denise Halpern Silveira

  2. Postgraduate Program in Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Federal University of Rio Grande, Rio Grande, Brazil

    Linjie Zhang, Silvio O. M. Prietsch & Lulie Rosane Odeh Susin

  3. Faculty of Medicine, Federal University of Pelotas, Pelotas, Brazil

    Amilcare Angelo Vecchi

Authors
  1. Denise Halpern Silveira
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  2. Linjie Zhang
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  3. Silvio O. M. Prietsch
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  4. Amilcare Angelo Vecchi
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  5. Lulie Rosane Odeh Susin
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Denise Halpern Silveira.

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Silveira, D.H., Zhang, L., Prietsch, S.O.M. et al. Association between dietary habits and asthma severity in children. Indian Pediatr 52, 25–30 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13312-015-0561-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13312-015-0561-x

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