Dietary pattern and asthma: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Area of Science:

• Nutritional Epidemiology
• Respiratory Health
• Public Health

Background:

• Existing research on diet and asthma often yields conflicting results due to a focus on individual nutrients.
• Dietary patterns, representing combined food intake, are an emerging area for asthma research.
• Understanding dietary patterns' impact on asthma is crucial for public health interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review the association between dietary patterns and asthma outcomes in adults and children.
• To examine the relationship between maternal diet during pregnancy and asthma development in children.
• To conduct a meta-analysis on the link between dietary patterns and asthma prevalence in adults.

Main Methods:

• Comprehensive literature search of Medline, Scopus, and ISI Web of Knowledge up to January 2014.
• Independent study review by two researchers using American Dietetic Association quality criteria.
• Application of a linear mixed model to determine pooled effect sizes for healthy, unhealthy, and neutral dietary patterns.

Main Results:

• Thirty-one studies were included, covering adults, children, and mother-child pairs.
• Six adult studies found significant associations between dietary patterns and asthma outcomes.
• The Mediterranean diet showed protective effects in children; however, the adult meta-analysis found no association between dietary patterns and asthma prevalence.

Conclusions:

• Current evidence indicates no association between dietary patterns and adult asthma prevalence or maternal diet and child asthma.
• The Mediterranean diet may offer protective effects for childhood asthma or wheeze, but requires further investigation through randomized controlled trials.
• Further research is needed to clarify the role of specific dietary patterns in asthma prevention and management.