Food consumption and asthma in school children in Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico

Objective. To evaluate the relation between diet and the development of asthma and allergic rhinitis in schoolchildren from Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico. Material and Methods. We apply the ISAAC's questionnaire in 5460 schoolchildren from 6 to 8 and 11-14-year-old of elementary level selected in random form. Six groups of food were formed using a hierarchic clusters analysis and the association was evaluated using logistic regression models. Results. The consumption of fast food had an adverse effect for current wheezing (OR=1.82; Cl95%=1.16-2.87) and the consumption of tidbits for more than three episodes of wheezing (OR=2.26;Cl95%=1.04-4.95) and nasal symptoms without cold, OR=1.35 (IC95%; 1.06-1.71). Conclusions. This study provides evidence that the diet plays a very important role since the high consumption of fast food and tidbits increased the risk of asthma and rhinitis symptoms.