Healthier Diets Linked to Lower Asthma Risk in Preschool Children: NHANES Study

A new analysis from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2011–2018 sheds light on the important role of diet quality in early childhood respiratory health. The study evaluated 1,695 children aged 3–5 years to determine how adherence to established dietary indices relates to asthma prevalence.

Key Findings

• Children with higher adherence to DASH, AHEI, HEI-2020, and Mediterranean diet (MED) patterns showed a significantly lower risk of asthma.
• Adjusted ORs:
• DASH: 0.93 (95% CI: 0.90–0.97)
• AHEI: 0.98 (95% CI: 0.97–0.99)
• HEI-2020: 0.98 (95% CI: 0.98–0.99)
• MED: 0.89 (95% CI: 0.84–0.94)
• Diets with lower inflammatory potential (as reflected by lower Dietary Inflammatory Index scores) were associated with a reduced likelihood of asthma.
• Mediation analyses found that BMI, Lipid Accumulation Product (LAP), and Visceral Adipose Tissue Index (VAI) significantly mediated the diet–asthma relationship (P < 0.05), suggesting that body composition and metabolic factors play an intermediary role.

Implications

These findings underscore the potential of anti-inflammatory and nutrient-rich dietary patterns in mitigating asthma risk during early childhood. Incorporating diets rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats may offer protective benefits by lowering inflammation and improving metabolic health.

As pediatric asthma continues to impact quality of life globally, this evidence supports integrating diet-based prevention strategies into public health and clinical practice.