The Relationship between Allergies and Fruit and Vegetable Intake in Korean Adults : Based on the 2016∼2018 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Data

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the relationship between allergies and fruit and vegetable intake. This study included 13,280 participants aged ≥ 20 years from the 7th KNHANES. Participants were classified into two groups(non-allergic disease group (NADG) and allergic disease group (ADG)). Demographically, ages were lower in the ADG(p<0.001), but the proportions of women(p<0.001), urban (p<0.05) and apartment living(p<0.01), unmarried status(p<0.001), education(p<0.001), and household income(p<0.05) were higher than those in the NADG. Health-related factors, such as monthly drinking rate(p<0.05), mental stress(p<0.001), and walking(p<0.01) were higher in the ADG. Conversely, BMI(p<0.01) and waist circumference(p<0.001) were higher in the NADG. Vegetable intake in the ADG was lower than that of NADG(p<0.001). When vegetable intake was increased by 10 g, the odds ratio for the prevalence of allergies was reduced by 0.994(p<0.01).