Relationship between dietary patterns and COPD: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Area of Science:

• Pulmonary Medicine
• Nutritional Science
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Previous research on dietary patterns and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has yielded inconsistent findings.
• A clear understanding of the relationship between diet and COPD prevalence and incidence is lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review and synthesize evidence on the association between dietary patterns and the prevalence and incidence of COPD.
• To assess the strength of the evidence linking healthy and unhealthy dietary patterns to COPD risk.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive literature search was conducted across seven databases from 1980 to 2019.
• Data from eight observational studies were extracted and analyzed using random-effects meta-analysis.
• Two independent reviewers managed the screening, selection, data extraction, and quality assessment processes.

Main Results:

• A healthy dietary pattern was significantly associated with a lower risk of COPD (pooled OR 0.88, 95% CI 0.82-0.94).
• Unhealthy dietary patterns showed a non-significant association with increased COPD risk (OR 1.22, 95% CI 0.84-1.76) with high heterogeneity (I²=91%).

Conclusions:

• Healthy dietary patterns are associated with a reduced prevalence of COPD.
• The association between unhealthy dietary patterns and COPD risk requires further investigation.
• More robust, adequately powered longitudinal studies are needed to confirm these findings.