Voeding rijk aan vlees, zout en zetmeel vergroot kans op longziektes.*
Uit een grootschalige studie onder meer dan 50.000 chinezen blijkt dat een meer westers dieet met veel vlees, zout en zetmeel de kans op longziektes zoals COPD wel met meer dan 40% verhoogd.
COPD
risk associated with meaty, salty, starchy diet
A new study finds that eating mostly meat,
refined starches, and sodium may increase the likelihood of developing chronic
respiratory symptoms, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Researchers found that individuals whose diets are rich in meat, refined
starches and sodium are 1.43 times more likely to report new onset of persistent
coughs with phlegm than those who consume a diet high in fruit and soy.
"Understanding all the contributing factors, including the role that diet
plays in the incidence and development of chronic respiratory symptoms will lead
to better prevention and treatment of respiratory diseases," said David A.
Schwartz, M.D., the director of the National Institute of Environmental Health
Sciences (NIEHS), the component of the National Institutes of Health, that
supported the study. "We know that cigarette smoking can be a specific
cause of COPD, but now we're learning that avoiding certain foods may help
reduce chronic respiratory symptoms, both in smokers and non-smokers."
The results appearing online in American Journal of Respiratory and Critical
Care Medicine analyzed data to assess the usual dietary intake of 52,325
participants. Although the study was conducted within a Singaporean population,
the dietary patterns are reflective of U.S. eating patterns. The study
population consisted of men and women of Chinese ethnicity ranging in ages from
45 to 74 at enrollment.
"These are exceptional data on dietary habits," said NIEHS researcher
Stephanie London, M.D., lead investigator on the study. "We are fortunate
to have access to high quality dietary data from such a large number of
participants to address the potential links with respiratory health."
Dr. Mimi Yu, of the University of Minnesota, founder of the Singapore Chinese
Cohort, developed and validated a 165-item quantitative food frequency
questionnaire in this population. The participants were presented with a list of
147 food items and 18 beverages and asked about the frequency of consumption of
each item over a one-year period. For this paper, researchers used these data to
analyze dietary patterns of the population, rather than simply looking at
individual foods or nutrients as is usually done.
"We were able to identify two distinct food patterns in our population,"
said Dr. London. "what we refer to as the 'meat-dim sum pattern' and the 'vegetable-fruit-soy
pattern.'"
The meat-dim sum pattern contained 31 food items, predominantly pork, chicken,
fish, noodle dishes, and preserved foods, as well as 11 snack items. The
vegetable-fruit-soy pattern contained 32 foods, including 23 vegetables, 4 fruit
items and five soyfood items.
The meat dim sum pattern was positively associated with new onset cough with
phlegm after adjusting for age, gender, smoking, education and other factors. No
individual food item could account for the 1.4 fold increase in risk of cough
with phlegm from this dietary pattern. "It is difficult to tease out what
is accounting for the increases in respiratory symptoms related to the
meat-dim-sum diet, and thus using the patterns is useful" said Dr. London.
The researchers explain that there are similarities between the newly identified
Chinese patterns and U.S. dietary patterns. Two primary U.S. patterns have been
consistently described in the research literature. The "Western"
pattern, characterized by red and processed meats, sweets and desserts, French
fries, refined grains, has many similarities to the Chinese meat-dim sum diet;
and the "prudent" pattern, characterized by fruits, vegetables,
legumes, fish, poultry and whole grains, resembles the vegetable-fruit-soy diet.
"As researchers, we rarely look at the impact of dietary patterns on health.
We typically look at vitamins and specific foods, but not how overall dietary
patterns affect non-malignant respiratory diseases or symptoms," said Dr.
London. "These data show us the important contribution that diet can have
on the development of diseases, such as COPD. Choosing foods with less saturated
fat, lower in refined starches and sodium content is probably a good idea."
Researchers at the National University of Singapore, the University of Minnesota,
the University of California at Davis, and Fox-Chase Cancer Center collaborated
with NIEHS on this study. NIEHS, a component of the National Institutes of
Health, supports research to understand the effects of the environment on human
health. For more information on environmental health topics, please visit our
website at niehs.nih.gov/home.htm
World COPD Day 2005, November 16, 2005. World COPD Day is organized by the
Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) in collaboration
with health care professionals and COPD patient groups throughout the world. Its
aim is to raise awareness about chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and
improve COPD care throughout the world.
Reference:
LM Butler et al. Prospective study of dietary patterns and persistent cough with
phlegm among Chinese Singaporeans. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical
Care Medicine. Published ahead of print on November 4, 2005 as doi:10.1164/rccm.200506-901OC.
Robin Mackar
rmackar@niehs.nih.gov
NIH/National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
http://www.niehs.nih.gov
(November
2005)
