Association of the 2020 Healthy Eating Index with asthma in children and adolescents in the United States: a cross-sectional study of NHANES

Abstract

Objective: Our goal was to investigate the connection between asthma and HEI-2020.

Data sources: A cross-sectional study was conducted using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2005 to 2020.

Study selections: Diet quality was measured as HEI-2020 scores using 24-h and 2-day dietary recall data. A range of statistical methods, including as sensitivity analysis, restricted triple spline analysis, subgroup analysis, and multivariate logistic regression, were used to assess the relationship between the HEI-2020 and asthma.

Results: 2,740 (17.5%) of the 15,667 said a doctor or other health care provider had diagnosed them with asthma. The lower a child or adolescent's risk of developing asthma, after adjusting for pertinent factors, the higher the overall HEI-2020 score. The adjusted odds ratios (OR) for asthma in the second (Tertiles 2, 42.92-<51.9) and third (Tertiles 3, 42.92-51.9) groups were 0.93 (0.84-1.03) and 0.83 (0.73-0.94), respectively, in comparison to the group with the lowest HEI-2020 values (Tertiles 1, 18.35-<42.92). The results' resilience was further validated using stratified and sensitivity analyses. Asthma risk may also be decreased by eating less sodium and added sweets and more total fruits, whole fruits, seafood and plant proteins.

Conclusion: There is a negative correlation between asthma and the Healthy Eating Index-2020 in children and adolescents in the United States.

Keywords: Asthma; Children and adolescents in the United States; Healthy Eating Index-2020; cross-sectional study.