Inflammatory compounds found in cooked meat could increase the risk of childhood wheeze, according to a new study published today.
A USA observational study, led by the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, looked at the potential impact of dietary advanced glycation end (AGE) intake and meat consumption on respiratory symptoms.
They examined responses to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) – a nationally representative annual survey assessing the health and nutrition of the US population – for between 2003 and 2006.
The researchers calculated the quantity of AGEs consumed for 4388 children aged 2-17 years, for whom the 139-item Food Frequency Questionnaire was completed.
They found that 537 (13%) of the children had experienced wheezing in the previous year and after accounting for potentially influential factors, such as age, sex, race/ethnicity, household income, weight (BMI), and asthma, the research team found higher AGE scores were associated with an 18% increased risk of wheezing.
Writing in Thorax, they say higher AGE scores were also associated with 26% increased risk of disturbed sleep due to wheezing at least once; 34% heightened risk of wheezing during exercise; and 35% increased odds of them needing medication in the previous 12 months.
Higher meat intake was also associated with a more than doubling in the odds of sleep disrupted by wheezing and the need for medication to ease symptoms.
Although this is an observational study for which there is no validated method of measuring AGE intake, the findings confirm other research that links a proinflammatory dietary pattern and wheezing, say the authors.
“As several cohort studies have suggested an adverse effect of meat consumption on paediatric airways health, confirmation of a positive correlation between AGE intake and non-seafood meat consumption in our cohort strengthens our a priori hypothesis that dietary AGEs may have an important role in airway inflammation in children,” they write.
Wang JG, Liu B, Kroll F et al. Brief communication: Increased advanced glycation end product and meat consumption is associated with childhood wheeze: analysis of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Thorax 22 December 2020; doi 10.1136/thoraxjnl-2020-216109
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