Skip to main content
. 2020 Sep 15;8:545. doi: 10.3389/fped.2020.00545

Table 5.

Diet indices in childhood and allergy outcomes.

References Exposure Outcomes
KIDMED—Mediterranean Diet Quality Index for children and teenagers
Grigoropoulou et al. (106) Greece
N = 1,125
Age assessed: 10–12 years
Asthma
1-unit increase in the Kidmed index was associated with 16% lower likelihood of having asthma symptoms
Greater adherence to MD was inversely associated with “ever wheeze” (O: 0.88; 95% CI, 0.78, 0.98) and wheeze when exercise w (OR: 0.79; 95% CI, 0.67, 0.93).
Chatzi et al. (99) Spain
N = 460
Age assessed: 6.5 years
Persistent wheeze, atopic wheeze (current wheeze and atopy), atopy (sensitization to ≥1/6 common aeroallergens)
No statistical significant effect was seen.
Alphantonogeorgos et al. (101) Greece
Urban (Athens, n = 700) or rural environment (n = 425)
Age assessed: 10–12 years
Asthma, any asthmatic symptom
Adherence to the Kidmed index was negatively associated with asthma symptoms (standardized beta = −0.224, p < 0.001).
Arvaniti et al. (102) Greece
N = 700
Age assessed: 10–12 years
Ever asthma, any asthma symptoms, ever wheeze, exercise induced wheeze, night cough
Greater adherence to MD inversely associated with ever asthma (p = 0.002), any asthma symptoms (P < 0.001), ever wheeze (p < 0.001), exercise induced wheeze (p = 0.004).
One-unit increase in KidMed score was associated with 14% lower likelihood of having asthma.
Chatzi et al. (104) Greece
N = 690
Age assessed: 7–18 years
Respiratory and allergic symptoms over the past 12 months, skin prick tests to 10 aeroallergens, any wheezing in the past, atopic wheeze, current wheezing, nocturnal dry cough, any rhinitis in the past, atopic rhinitis, current allergic rhinitis, current seasonal rhinitis, atopy
High level of adherence to MD was inversely related to Allergic rhintis ever OR 0.34 (0.18–0.64) p < 0.01
Allergic rhinitis with atopy OR 0.39 (0.13–0.97)
Current allergic h = rhinitis OR 0.49 (0.24–0.99) p < 0.05
Nocturnal cough apart from cold in the last 12 months OR 0.49 (0.23–0.96)
No significant effect seen for wheezing and atopy
EPIC—European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition Cohort—Mediterranean diet score
Castro-Rodriguez et al. (107) Spain
N = 1,784
Age assessed: 08 ± 0.8 years
Current wheezing
Highest quartile of EPIC scores associated with a reduction in current wheeze 0.54 (0.33–0.88)
de Batlle et al. (108) Mexico
N = 1,476 Age assessed: 6–7 years
Asthma ever, wheeze ever, current wheeze, rhinitis ever, sneezing ever, current sneezing, current itchy-watery eyes. rhinitis related outcomes by ISAAC questionnaire
Adherence to the EPIC scores (2nd and 3rd tertile compared with 1st tertile) inversely associated with asthma ever OR 0.60 (0.40–0.91), wheezing ever OR 0.64 (0.47–0.87), current Sneezing OR 0.71 (0.52–0.96) and current itchy-watery eyes OR 0.63 (0.42–0.95)
Garcia-Marcos L et al. (109) Spain
N = 20,106
Age assessed: 6–7 years
Current occasional asthma, current severe asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis
Every 1 unit increase in EPIC score showed a protective effect on current severe asthma in girls (adjusted OR 0.90, 95% CI: 0.82–0.98)
Suarez-Varela et al. (110) Spain
N = 20,106
Age assessed: 6–7 years
Atopic dermatitis
No association between EPIC diet scores and atopic dermatitis
Tamay et al. (111) Turkey
N = 9,875 Age assessed: 6–7 years
Allergic rhinitis, lifetime rhinitis, current rhinitis, current rhinoconjunctivitis, physician-diagnosed allergic rhinitis
No association between EPIC diet scores and any of the outcomes studied
Akcay et al. (112) Turkey
N = 9,991
Age assessed: 13–14 years
Wheeze ever, wheezing in last 12 months, lifetime doctor diagnosed asthma prevalence
No association between EPIC diet scores and any of the outcomes studied
Rice et al. (113) Peru
N = 287 asthmatic + 96 controls
Age assessed: 9–19 years
Asthma status (asthma control, FEV1), allergic rhinitis, atopy
No association between EPIC scores and asthma control, FEV1, allergic rhinitis, or atopic status
Romieu et al. (114) Mexico
N = 158 asthmatic + 50 controls
Age assessed: 6–14 years
Pulmonary function was measured and nasal lavage collected and analyzed.
No significant difference between the asthmatic and the non-asthmatic children.
Gonzalez et al. (115) Spain
N = 7,454
Age assessed: 6–7 years
N = 7,391
Age assessed: 13–14 years
6–7 years: Asthma current asthma, severe asthma, and exercise-induced asthma
13–14 years: Asthma current asthma, severe asthma, and exercise-induced asthma
6–7 years: Increased EPIC diet scores were associated with a higher risk of severe asthma (odds ratios = 2.26, 95% CI: 1.21–4.22 in the 2nd quartile, but not in the 3rd and 4th) in girls. There was no significant relationship for the other asthma categories
Diet inflammatory index
De Castro et al. (116) Portugal
N = 501
Age assessed: 7–12 years
Asthma
The effect of indoor pollution on asthma outcomes was more severe in those with a pro-inflammatory diet (OR = 1.44, 95% CI: 1.01–2.21; and OR = 1.29, 95% CI: 1.03–1.68, respectively) compared to those having an anti-inflammatory diet. No direct effect of DII on asthma outcomes were reported.
Han et al. (117) USA
N = 8,175
Age assessed: 6–17 years
Current asthma, current wheeze, lung function measures
Higher Diet inflammatory index scores were associated with high fractional exhaled nitric oxide (a marker of eosinophilic airway inflammation; OR = 2.38, 95% CI = 1.13–5.02; Ptrend = 0.05) in children. The DII was not associated with lung function or current asthma