Cured Meat Worsens Asthma Symptoms

In a new study, researchers sought to examine the effects of cured meat on adults with asthma, and whether BMI indirectly mediated the effects of cured meat on asthma. They found that cured meat worsens asthma symptoms, and is not directly linked to the BMI of patients.

Researchers used the French prospective EGEA study data from 2003-2007 and from the follow-ups between 2011-2013. The sample included 971 participants, 49% of them were men and 42% reported having asthma. The mean age of participants was 43 years old, 35% were recorded as overweight, and 9% were obese. The participants consumed between 1.5 to 4.5 servings of cured meat per week, with a median of 2.5 servings per week.
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A marginal structural model was used to estimate the effects of cured meat on asthma, and determine whether BMI was an indirect mediator.

According to their results, 20% of participants reported worsening asthma symptoms within the 7-year follow-up. Their findings indicated that the consumption of cured meat was directly linked to worsening asthma. BMI indirectly mediated the worsening of asthma symptoms for only 14% of participants in the study.

Overall, the researchers showed that cured meat was directly linked to worsening asthma symptoms. In addition, researchers found that BMI was not a major indirect mediator between cured meat and asthma.

“This research extends the deleterious effect of cured meat in health, and the effect of diet on asthma in adults, and provides a novel analytic approach regarding the role of BMI in the diet–asthma association,” the researchers concluded.

—Melissa Weiss

Reference:

Zhen L, Rava M, Bédard A, et al. Cured meat intake is associated with worsening asthma symptoms [published online December 20, 2016]. Thorax. doi:10.1136/thoraxjnl-2016-208375.