Parental education moderates the association between indoor moisture environment and asthma in adolescents: the Greek Global Asthma Network (GAN) cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: Asthma is a major contributor to childhood morbidity. Several environmental and socioeconomic status (SES) factors have been implicated in its etiopathogeneses such as indoor moisture and parental education level. Our study examined the association between exposure to indoor dampness and/or mould (IDM) with adolescent asthma and how parental education could modify or mediate this relationship. METHOD: A total of 1934 adolescents (boys: 47.5%, mean age (standard variation): 12.7(0.6) years) and their parents were voluntarily enrolled and completed a validated questionnaire on adolescents' asthma status, parental educational level, and adolescents' indoor exposure to IDM during three different lifetime periods, i.e., pregnancy, the first year of life and the current time. RESULTS: There was a significant modification effect of parental education only for the current exposure; higher parental education lowered almost 50% the odds of IDM and asthma (adjusted odds ratio (aOR): 1.96, 95% Confidence Intervals (CI): (1.05-3.68) and aOR:1.55, 95% CI (1.04-2.32), for primary/secondary and tertiary parental education, respectively). CONCLUSION: Adolescents whose parents had a higher education level had lesser odds to have asthma, even if they were exposed to a moisture home environment. This could be attributed to the increased knowledge about asthma risk factors and the improved measures for the amelioration of moisture-home environment that highly educated parents are more likely to take. Further research is needed in order to elucidate the interweaved role of family SES in the aforementioned relation.

Hierarchical analysis of Mediterranean Dietary pattern on atopic diseases' prevalence in adolescence: The Greek Global Asthma Network study.

INTRODUCTION: The contribution of dietary patterns in the occurrence of atopic diseases, mainly asthma, allergic rhinits, and eczema is ambiguous. Our study examined the association between the level of adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) and the prevalence of atopic diseases in adolescence. METHODS: A total of 1934 adolescents (boys: 47.5%, mean age [standard variation]: 12.7[0.6] years) enrolled voluntarily. Participants completed a validated questionnaire on atopic disease status, dietary habits, and other sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics. KIDMED score was used for the evaluation of adherence to the MedDiet. Discriminant analysis was applied to the hierarchy of foods and beverages consumed in relation to the presence of atopic diseases. RESULTS: Logistic regression analyses revealed that adolescents with moderate and good adherence to the MedDiet had 34 and 60% lower odds of having any asthma symptoms, respectively, and 20 and 41% lower odds of having any allergic rhinitis symptoms, respectively, adjusted for several confounders. The food group with the most important contribution to the MedDiet was cooked and raw vegetables, followed by fruits (Wilk's λ = 0.881 and λ = 0.957, respectively). CONCLUSION: Our study provided evidence for a strong and inverse association between the level of adherence to the MedDiet and the occurrence of asthma and allergic rhinitis symptoms and signified the importance of contribution of fruits and vegetable consumption in this association. Thus, the promotion of MedDiet could be an efficient lifestyle intervention that can contribute to the reduction of the burden of these atopic diseases in adolescents.

Parental Education Moderates the Relation between Physical Activity, Dietary Patterns and Atopic Diseases in Adolescents.

Background: Atopic diseases, particularly asthma, eczema, and rhinitis, are among the most common chronic diseases in childhood, with several factors implicated in their pathogenesis. Our study examined the role of parental education in the association between diet, physical activity, and atopy in adolescents. Methods: 1934 adolescents (47.5% boys) aged 13−14 years old reported information about their diet and physical activity and their parents reported their highest educational level. The moderating role of parental education level (primary/secondary vs. tertiary) in the relation between lifestyle patterns and atopic diseases was examined with logistic regression analyses. Results: High consumption of dairy products was inversely associated to adolescents' asthma and rhinitis symptoms overall, but this relation was almost 50% stronger for the adolescents with high parental education level background. The same pattern of reduction of the odds was noticed also regarding the association among the high intake of fruits, vegetables, pulses, with all three atopic diseases and the adherence to a physically active lifestyle only with current asthma and eczema (all p < 0.05). Conclusion: Adolescents who are physically active and consume a higher intake of fruits, vegetables, and pulses and a lower intake of fast-food and sweets, and their parents/guardians having higher education, are less likely to have any current symptoms of asthma, eczema, and rhinitis than the ones who have low educated parents.

Exploring the Relation between Atopic Diseases and Lifestyle Patterns among Adolescents Living in Greece: Evidence from the Greek Global Asthma Network (GAN) Cross-Sectional Study.

INTRODUCTION: Diet and physical activity might be associated with the risk of allergic diseases in childhood. However, evidence in literature is sparse and diverse. We aim to examine the associations between four healthy dietary consumption pattern drinks, plus the adherence to a physically active lifestyle with atopic diseases (asthma, allergic rhinitis and eczema) in adolescence and their relative importance. METHODS: A total of 1934 adolescents (921 boys, 47.5%) and their parents completed a validated questionnaire assessing atopic diseases' symptoms prevalence in the past 12 months, as well as nutritional and physical activity information. Four healthy dietary and one physical active lifestyle patterns were identified and logistic regression was applied to assess their relation with allergic diseases. RESULTS: A high weekly consumption of fruits, vegetables and pulses and low consumption of unhealthy foods was negatively associated with all atopic symptoms while adherence to a physical active lifestyle was inversely associated with asthma and allergic rhinitis symptoms and dairy products with asthma and eczema symptoms in the past 12 months after adjustment for several confounders (all p < 0.05). Fruits, vegetables and pulses consumption per week emerged as the most important lifestyle pattern negatively associated for all atopic diseases, after the adjustment for all the remaining lifestyle patterns and confounders (all p < 0.05) Conclusions: Our findings suggest that a high fruit, vegetable and pulse intake should be the first lifestyle intervention every clinician and public health care worker evolving in the management of atopic adolescents should encourage and promote.

Parental Education and the Association between Fruit and Vegetable Consumption and Asthma in Adolescents: The Greek Global Asthma Network (GAN) Study.

BACKGROUND: Evidence suggests that nutritional factors, such as consumption of fruits and vegetables, along with socioeconomic factors such as parental education level, are associated with asthma prevalence. Our study examined the role of parental education in the association between fruit and vegetable consumption and adolescent asthma. METHODS: 1934 adolescents (mean age: 12.7 years, standard deviation: 0.6 years, boys: 47.5%) and their parents were voluntarily enrolled and completed a validated questionnaire assessing current asthma status, fruit and vegetable consumption and parental educational level. Participants were categorized as high or low intake for five food groups: fruits, cooked vegetables, raw vegetables, all vegetables (cooked and raw), and all three food groups together (fruits and all vegetables). RESULTS: Adolescents who were high consumers of all three food groups (fruits, cooked and raw vegetables) were less likely to have asthma, adjusted for several confounders (adjusted odds ratio (aOR): 0.53, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.25-0.97). Moreover, in adolescents who had parents with tertiary education and were in the high consumption of all three food groups, the inverse association was almost twofold higher than the one for adolescents with parents of primary/secondary education (aOR: 0.35, 95% CI: (0.21-0.89) and aOR: 0.61, 95% CI: (0.47-0.93) respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings highlight the importance of the adoption of a diet rich in fruits and vegetables for all asthmatic adolescents and emphasize the important role of parental influences in this association.

Nutrition habits, physical activity, and lung cancer: an authoritative review.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Because of high incidence rates and low survival rates, it is important to study the risk factors that may help prevent the disease from developing. It has been well established that cigarette smoking is the most important risk factor for lung cancer. Nonetheless it is likely that there are other modifiable risk factors that would assist in the prevention of lung cancer. Research on factors such as nutrition and physical activity and their influence on lung cancer has been carried out for nearly 3 decades. A systematic review in the MEDLINE database of published studies was conducted, focusing on systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and large prospective studies. The association between physical activity and lung cancer has been conflicting. Among the researched studies, 10 showed an inverse association, whereas 11 reported no association. A meta-analysis that was conducted from 1996 to October 2003 showed that leisure physical activity (LPA) prevents lung cancer. Data from 11 cohort and case-control studies showed an inverse relationship between fruit and vegetable consumption and lung cancer. Evidence from case-control studies suggests a positive association between meat intake and risk of lung cancer, although several more recent studies have presented doubts about these findings. The possible association of physical activity, nutrition, and the risk of lung cancer development remains controversial. Further prospective studies should be conducted to determine the potential influence of these 2 risk factors.