Lung Function, Dietary Intake, and Weight Status in Children with Persistent Asthma from Low-Income, Urban Communities.

E Whitney Evans,Daphne Koinis-Mitchell,Sheryl J Kopel,Elissa Jelalian

doi:10.3390/nu11122943

E Whitney Evans, Daphne Koinis-Mitchell + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11122943

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Abstract

Objective: Asthma and obesity are prevalent chronic childhood diseases that commonly co-occur in youth from low-income, minority backgrounds. Diet is a known risk factor for obesity; however, its role in asthma/obesity comorbidity is not well established. This analysis examined the association between diet and lung function and effect modification by weight status. Methods: Lung function (FEV1 % predicted), anthropometric, and dietary data were collected from 95 children, ages 7–9 years old with persistent asthma, from low-income, urban communities in the United States. Associations between lung function, diet and weight status were examined using multivariable linear regression. Results: There were no significant differences in dietary intake between children with persistent asthma with and without obesity; however, >85% of participants did not meet recommendations for fruit, vegetable, and whole grain intake for their age and sex. Only intake of fruit (whole fruit and juice) was significantly associated with FEV1 % predicted (−3.36; 95% CI: −6.5 to −0.2). Conclusions: Diet quality was poor in this sample, independent of weight status. More research is needed to understand the relationship between diet, lung function, and weight status, so that interventions can be developed to concurrently address obesity and weight.

Highlights

Asthma is the most prevalent childhood chronic illness in the US [1,2]
While not statistically significantly different, there were more children with overweight and obesity (OW/OB) who had severe persistent asthma as compared to children with normal weight (22.4% vs. 13.1%, respectively); the two weight status groups did not differ with respect to lung function or asthma control
While the shared mechanisms underlying co-occurring childhood asthma and obesity are not well understood, it is likely that overlapping behavioral risk factors, including diet, play a role

Summary

Introduction

Asthma is the most prevalent childhood chronic illness in the US [1,2]. 13.8% or 10 million American children have asthma, on average; yet, rates are over 20% in urban centers where exposure to environmental allergens and irritants is high [3,4,5]. The prevalence of asthma is higher in African-American and Hispanic populations, Puerto Rican children, and asthma morbidity is greater in these groups as compared to non-Hispanic white (NHW) children [6,7,8,9]. Some studies have found that children with asthma are at greater risk for OW/OB, while others show that having

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