Journal
PEDIATRIC PULMONOLOGY
Volume 38, Issue 1, Pages 31-42Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1002/ppul.20042
Keywords
childhood asthma; wheezing; body mass index; vitamin C
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Childhood asthma may be affected by dietary changes and increased body mass related to a sedentary lifestyle, although the mechanisms are poorly understood. To test this hypothesis, we used data from the National Health and Nutrition Survey (NHANES III) from 19881994, including 7,904 children. We analyzed cross-sectional information on body mass index (BMI = weight/height), physical activity (hr/day viewing television), dietary intake (24-hr recall), and vitamin C intake (60 mg/day). The probability of self-reported asthma or wheezing relating to risk. factors was calculated by logistic regression. After controlling for dietary intake, physical activity, and sociodemographic variables, asthma risk was three times higher for children aged 6-16 years in the highest percentiles of BMI (>95th percentile) when compared to children in percentiles 25-49 (OR = 3.44; 95% CI, 1.49-7.96). No increase was observed in children aged 2-5 years. Low vitamin C intake was marginally related to self-reported current wheezing in children aged 6-16 years. Our results show that increased BMI may influence asthma prevalence in children, but further investigation is needed. (C) 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.(dagger)
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available