Patterns of dietary intake and relation to respiratory disease, forced expiratory volume in 1 s, and decline in 5-y forced expiratory volume

Background: The independent effect of individual foods on the risk of respiratory disease is difficult to establish because intakes of specific foods are generally strongly correlated. To date, few studies have examined the relation between dietary food patterns and forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) or respiratory symptoms. Objective: The objective was to investigate the relation between dietary patterns and FEV1, FEV1 decline, and respiratory health in a general population sample. Design: Data were collected from the cross-sectional study in 12,648 adults from the Netherlands [MORGEN-EPIC (Monitoring Project on Risk Factors and Chronic Diseases in the Netherlands-European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition)]. Principal components analysis was used to derive dietary patterns, and multivariate regression analyses were conducted to investigate these patterns with FEV1 or respiratory health. We also investigated these dietary patterns in relation to lung function decline over 5 y in a subpopulation. Results: A more traditional diet (high intake of meat and potatoes and lower intake of soy and cereal) was associated with a lower FEV1 (fifth compared with first quintile: -94.4 mL; 95% CI: -123.4, -65.5 mL; P for trend < 0.001) and a higher prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. An increased trend through quintiles was seen with a cosmopolitan diet (higher intakes of vegetables, fish, and chicken) for asthma and wheeze. Conclusions: The results suggest that a traditional diet has adverse effects on lung function and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and that a more cosmopolitan diet was associated with increased risk of wheeze and asthma. However, none of the dietary patterns appear to be related to lung function decline. Am J Clin Nutr 2010; 92: 408-15.