Factors associated with asthma in Albania

Abstract

This survey provides limited evidence linking asthma with aspects of western lifestyle. It supports the hypothesis that opportunities for infection during early childhood and the consumption of fruit and vegetables protect against asthma.

A natural experiment on the impact of fruit supplementation on asthma symptoms in children

“…Many cross-sectional studies have reported that a high fruit intake is associated with a lower risk of asthma symptoms [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12], and the need for intervention studies using fruit for asthma symptoms has been highlighted [21]. The present study is the first to look opportunistically at the effect on asthma symptoms of a population-based intervention aiming to increase fruit intake in young children.…”

“…In the context of previous cross-sectional studies suggesting that fruit consumption may be an important exposure influencing asthma symptoms in both children [3-5, 10, 11] and adults [6][7][8][9]21], the absence of an effect of increase in fruit intake on measures of asthma symptoms requires consideration. There are several potential explanations for this.…”

“…Fruit is one of the main dietary sources of antioxidants [2], and a higher intake of fruit has been associated with a lower prevalence of asthma symptoms in many [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] but not all published studies of this relationship [13][14][15][16][17][18]. In children aged 6-7 yrs, those who ate fruit on at least 5 days per week were reported to have .60% reduction in the risk of shortness of breath with wheeze compared with those who never ate fruit [5].…”

Dietary factors in the pathogenesis of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

“…Several studies investigated the effects of fruit and vegetable consumption on respiratory health: two case-control studies [11••,24]; three cohort studies [13,14••,30]; and seven cross-sectional studies [19,21,28,[31][32][33][34]. The influence of fruit and vegetable consumption on several outcome measures was assessed.…”

Feeding with Both β-Carotene and Supplemental α-Tocopherol Enhances Type 1 Helper T Cell Activity among Splenocytes Isolated from DO11.10 Mice

“…Epidemiological studies have shown that a high intake of fruits and vegetables reduces the risk of incidence of allergic diseases. [1][2][3] These studies indicate that the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables helps to suppress wheezing, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, and allergic eczema in adults and children. Fruits and vegetables are rich in such antioxidants as vitamin C, vitamin E, flavonoids, and carotenoids.…”