Resumen de Increased dietary beta-carotene intake associated with better asthma quality of life
A. Moreira, M. Vaz, J. Fonseca, Pedro A. Moreira, J. Rodrigues
Asthma prevalence and morbidity have steadily increased in last decades in face of our improved knowledge of the disease. Changing patterns and interactions among asthma risk factors may contribute to these trends, in which diet is a recognized risk factor for asthma occurrence. Although a possible protective role of dietary antioxidants in asthma has been proposed, little is known about possible relationship between dietary intake and asthma severity, if any. Our objective was to investigate whether asthma severity is associated with antioxidants consumption. We found that better asthma quality of life was associated, in females, with increased consumption of beta-carotene, even after adjustment for energy intake and potential confounders (p=0.023) and in males, with lesser consumption of dietary iron (13.9±2.1 vs. 17.8±2.1 mg, p=0.026; after adjustment for energy intake and confounders, p=0.012). Our study shows promising results that need further investigation relating these two nutrients involved in several antioxidant mechanisms
