Association of Allergic Diseases and Related Conditions with Dietary Fiber Intake in Korean Adults

An association between fiber intake and allergic diseases in children has been reported; however, many studies have not been conducted to assess this association in adults. We aimed to evaluate the association between dietary fiber intake and allergic diseases (asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis) among 10,479 adults using data from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2010-2011). As dietary fiber intake increased, the prevalence of asthma (Q4 adjusted odds ratio (OR): 0.656; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.48-0.91, p for trend p for trend p for trend < 0.0001) tended to decrease, especially in males. Subgroup analysis revealed that fiber intake reduced allergic rhinitis symptoms, including watery rhinorrhea (Q3 adjusted OR: 0.734; 95% CI: 0.55-0.97; Q4 adjusted OR: 0.722; 95% CI: 0.54-0.97) and dog allergen sensitization (Q3 adjusted OR: 0.319; 95% CI: 0.13-0.82; Q4 adjusted OR: 0.338; 95% CI: 0.13-0.86), exclusively in males. Thus, dietary fiber intake influences allergic diseases in adults, especially males

Association (psychology · Biology · Dietary fiber · Environmental health · Food composition and properties · Medicine · Microbial Metabolites in Food Biotechnology · Psychology · Therapeutic Uses of Natural Elements · Food Science