Supervisors info:
Αντωνογεώργος Γεώργιος, Παιδίατρος, Βιοστατιστικός, Επιδημιολόγος, Επιβλέπων
Δούρος Κωνσταντίνος, Καθηγητής, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Πρίφτης Κώστας, αφ. Αναπληρωτής Καθηγητής Παιδιατρικής- Παιδοπνευμονολογίας, Ιατρική Σχολή ΕΚΠΑ, Διευθυντής Παιδοπνευμονολογικού- Παιδοαλλεργιολογικού Τμήματος, Παιδιατρικό Κέντρο Αθηνών
Summary:
Asthma, according to GINA, is a common and serious disease, which onset occurs in most cases in childhood. It has a great impact on people’s life, as it causes respiratory symptoms, such as wheezing and shortness of breath, limitation of activity and attacks. Also, it is, usually, characterized by airway inflammation and hyperresponsivness, which refers to the narrowing of the airways after inhalation of various stimuli. The causes of this condition are still unknown. Nevertheless, many modifiable factors, such as the dietary pattern and especially the mediterranean diet, have been associated the past few years, according to ISAAC, with the asthma prevalence and control in chil-dren. Mediterranean diet is a term that refers to the diet of people in the Mediterranean countries and it includes foods from various food groups. It includes high consumption of vegetables, fruits, legumes, grains, monoun-saturated fatty acids and n − 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) from olive oil and fish. These nutrients consist of chemical compounds with anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties (flavonoids, phytosterols, vitamins). The current evidence show that the anti- oxidative and anti- inflammatory nu-trients of Mediterranean diet are beneficial for the airway inflammation that occurs in childhood asthma as well as the control of symptoms and exacerba-tions. Other important factors that affect the progression of childhood asthma are the exposure to allergens, such as parental smoke, dust, aeroallergens, the respiratory tract infections, the obesity and physical activity. For these reasons, the past few years several studies have been conducted in order to investigate the association of diet and specifically Mediterranean diet to the development of asthma in children and, consequently, to recommend preven-tion strategies.
