Wheeze and asthma in children: associations with body mass index, sports, television viewing, and diet.

Full Abstract

BACKGROUND:
Obesity, physical activity, and dietary habits are distinct but strongly interrelated lifestyle factors that may be relevant to the prevalence of wheeze and asthma in children. Our goal was to analyze the relationship of body mass index (BMI), regular sports participation, TV viewing, and diet with current wheezing and asthma.

METHODS:
We investigated 20,016 children, aged 6-7 years, who were enrolled in a population-based study. Parents completed standardized questionnaires. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), while adjusting for several confounders and simultaneously considering BMI, regular sports activity, TV viewing and selected dietary items.

RESULTS:
A total of 1575 children (7.9%) reported current wheezing and 1343 (6.7%) reported current asthma. In a multivariate model, an elevated BMI was associated with wheeze and current asthma:
children from the highest quintile (compared with the lowest quintile) had an increased risk of wheeze (OR = 1.47; CI = 1.20-1.82) or current asthma (1.61; 1.28-2.01). Wheeze or asthma was not associated with regular sports activity. Subjects who spent 5 or more hours per day watching television were more likely to experience wheeze (1.53; 1.08-2.17) or current asthma (1.51; 1.04-2.2) compared with those who viewed TV less than 1 hour a day. Adding salt to food was strongly and independently associated with current wheeze (2.58; 1.41-4.71) and current asthma (2.68; 1.41-5.09).

CONCLUSIONS:
Our data support the hypothesis that high body weight, spending a lot of time watching television, and a salty diet each independently increase the risk of asthma symptoms in children.

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Author information

Author/s: Corbo, Giuseppe M (GM); Forastiere, Francesco (F); De Sario, Manuela (M); Brunetti, Luigia (L); Bonci, Enea (E); Bugiani, Massimiliano (M); Chellini, Elisabetta (E); La Grutta, Stefania (S); Migliore, Enrica (E); Pistelli, Riccardo (R); Rusconi, Franca (F); Russo, Antonio (A); Simoni, Marzia (M); Talassi, Fiorella (F); Galassi, Claudia (C); Sidria-2 Collaborative Group;

Affiliation: Respiratory Physiology Department, Catholic University, Rome, Italy. gmcorbo(-atsign-)yahoo.com

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Multicenter Study; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Epidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.) (Epidemiology), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2008-Sep; vol 19 (issue 5) : pp 747-55

Dates: Created 2008/08/15; Completed 2008/09/02;

PMID: 18496466, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Asthma - epidemiology; etiology
Body Mass Index
Child
Cross-Sectional Studies
Diet
Exercise
Female
Humans

Italy - epidemiology
Life Style
Logistic Models
Male
Questionnaires
Respiratory Sounds
Sodium Chloride, Dietary - administration & dosage
Television

Associated Chemicals: Sodium Chloride, Dietary (0)

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