Abstract
A high intake of dietary fibre has been associated with a reduced risk of several chronic diseases. This study aimed to review the current evidence on dietary fibre in relation to asthma, rhinitis and lung function impairment. Electronic databases were searched in June 2021 for studies on the association between dietary fibre and asthma, rhinitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung function. Observational studies with cross-sectional, case–control or prospective designs were included. Studies on animals, case studies and intervention studies were excluded. The quality of the evidence from individual studies was evaluated using the RoB-NObs tool. The World Cancer Research Fund criteria were used to grade the strength of the evidence. Twenty studies were included in this systematic review, of which ten were cohort studies, eight cross-sectional and two case–control studies. Fibre intake during pregnancy or childhood was examined in three studies, while seventeen studies examined the intake during adulthood. There was probable evidence for an inverse association between dietary fibre and COPD and suggestive evidence for a positive association with lung function. However, the evidence regarding asthma and rhinitis was limited and inconsistent. Further research is needed on dietary fibre intake and asthma, rhinitis and lung function among adults and children.
Highlights
Epidemiologic evidence has consistently shown that a high intake of dietary fibre is associated with a reduced risk of several chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, type 2 diabetes and obesity, as well as of total and specific-cause mortality [1,2,3]
An Australian cohort study of 639 mother–infant pairs, including infants with a family history of allergic disease, found that, the total fibre intake during pregnancy was not associated with allergic disease in the offspring, a higher resistant starch intake was associated with a reduced risk of infant wheeze up to age 12 months [16]
An Australian study of 144 adolescents aged 12–18 years reported no association between fibre intake and self-reported wheeze [17]
Summary
Epidemiologic evidence has consistently shown that a high intake of dietary fibre is associated with a reduced risk of several chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, type 2 diabetes and obesity, as well as of total and specific-cause mortality [1,2,3]. Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways and the most common chronic disease among children It is a cause of substantial burden of a disease, including a reduced quality of life in people of all ages and premature death [5]. Asthma frequently coexists with rhinitis, mostly among adolescents, as well as other atopic diseases, and it has been suggested that allergy-related diseases cannot be studied as isolated entities [7] Both genetic and environmental factors have been implicated in the aetiology of the aforementioned diseases; the increase in the prevalence of asthma and other allergic diseases in the second half of the 20th century has been mostly associated with environmental factors, such as smoking, air pollution and changes in lifestyle and diet [8]
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