Abstract
Several risk factors including environmental exposures, socioeconomic status, and dietary factors including dietary patterns have been considered for childhood Asthma. The present study tried to examine the association between a western-style pattern and the likelihood of asthma and its symptoms in Yazd, Iran. In the present cross-sectional study, dietary intakes of elementary and high-school children were obtained through a validated GAN questionnaire. The GAN questionnaire, derived from the ISAAC questionnaire was used to assess the symptoms of allergic diseases and their related risk factors. A western dietary pattern score considered 9 food groups including chicken eggs, margarine, butter, sugar, fast foods, soft drinks, snacks, sauce, and chocolate. In total 7667 children aged 10.9 ± 3.35 years were included in the current investigation. Boys with higher adherence to western dietary pattern had a higher risk of wheezing in the past 12 months (OR 1.37, 5% CI 1.01-1.87, P = 0.04) and this association was also observed in the whole population (OR 1.30, 5% CI 1.05-1.60, P = 0.01). However, after adjustment for confounders this relation did not remain significant in boys. Our results support the hypothesis that a western dietary pattern is associated with an increased risk of wheezing in the past 12 months in children with asthma. Future prospective studies are needed to confirm this finding.