ERJ
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

Published online before print February 12, 2009, 10.1183/09031936.00162907
Eur Respir J 2009; 33:481-485
Copyright ©ERS Journals Ltd 2009
doi: 10.1183/09031936.00162907

This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
33/3/481    most recent
09031936.00162907v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Permissions
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Fogarty, A. W.
Right arrow Articles by Lewis, S. A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Fogarty, A. W.
Right arrow Articles by Lewis, S. A.

A natural experiment on the impact of fruit supplementation on asthma symptoms in children

A. W. Fogarty1, M. Antoniak1, A. J. Venn1, L. Davies2, A. Goodwin2, N. Salfield2, J. R. Britton1 and S. A. Lewis1

1 Division of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Nottingham, and 2 Directorate of Public Health East Midlands, Dept of Health, Government Office for the East Midlands, Nottingham, UK.

CORRESPONDENCE: A. W. Fogarty, Division of Epidemiology and Public Health, Clinical Sciences Building, City Hospital, Nottingham, NG5 1PB, UK. Fax: 44 1158231946. E-mail: andrew.fogarty{at}nottingham.ac.uk

Keywords: Asthma, children, diet, fruit

Received: December 3, 2007
Accepted November 18, 2008

A high fruit intake may reduce the risk of asthma.

The English National School Fruit Scheme was introduced in the East Midlands region of the UK in June 2003 and in the Eastern region in September 2004. Questionnaires were distributed to children aged 4–6 yrs in schools in May 2003. This was repeated in May 2004 when those in the East Midlands had received free fruit for 1 yr and those in the Eastern region had not.

Responses were obtained in 2004 for 4,971 (53%) and 5,770 (54%) children in the intervention and control regions, respectively. Despite an increase in fruit consumption in the intervention compared with the control region between 2003 and 2004, there was no difference between the two regions in the prevalence or severity of asthma symptoms after 1 yr of fruit supplementation (odds ratio for wheeze in the past 12 months in intervention compared with control region 1.00, 95% confidence interval 0.88–1.14).

Providing free fruit at school for 1 yr does not have any immediate effect on prevalence or severity of asthma in young children, although these data do not refute the hypothesis that a higher increase in fruit intake improves measures of asthma control.




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Nutr Clin PractHome page
R. L. Sorkness
CAM and Respiratory Disease
Nutr Clin Pract, October 1, 2009; 24(5): 609 - 615.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2009 by the European Respiratory Society.