journal articles
MEDIATING ROLE OF THE BODY MASS INDEX IN THE PROSPECTIVE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN A HEALTHY DIET AND EVOLUTION OF ASTHMA SYMPTOMS IN ELDERLY WOMEN
Wassila Ait-hadad, Annabelle Bédard, Laurent Orsi, Sébastien Chanoine, Orianne Dumas, Nasser Laouali, Nicole Le Moual, Bénédicte Leynaert, Valérie Siroux, Marie-Christine Boutron-Ruault, Raphaëlle Varraso
J Aging Res & Lifestyle 2025;14
OBJECTIVES: Diet and obesity exhibit complex interrelationships with asthma, particularly among elderly women. We aimed to clarify the impact of healthy diet assessed by the Alternate Healthy Eating Index-2010 (AHEI-2010) on: 1) the incidence of asthma symptoms, and 2) among women with symptoms in 2011, the change in asthma symptoms, while accounting for the potential mediating role of BMI.
DESIGN: A nested case-control study on asthma with follow-up data.
SETTING: Within the French E3N cohort.
PARTICIPANTS: 8621 elderly women (62 years on average in 1993).
MEASUREMENTS: Dietary data were collected in 1993 and 2005 using semi-quantitative questionnaires. Using the validated asthma symptom score assessed in 2011 and 2018, asthma symptom incidence among women with no asthma symptom in 2011 (n = 5700) and change in asthma symptoms (reduced, stable, increased) among those with asthma symptoms in 2011 (n = 2921) were defined. BMI was calculated in 2008. Marginal structural models were used to estimate total, direct and indirect effects mediated by BMI.
RESULTS: After adjustment for potential confounders, we found a significant indirect effect of healthier diet on lower risk of asthma symptoms incidence mediated by lower BMI (OR for AHEI-2010 quintile 5 vs quintile 1 = 0.95 (0.92–0.97)), without significant total (OR=0.87 (0.66–1.10)) nor direct (OR=0.92 (0.71–1.15)) effects. Among women with asthma symptoms, we also found a significant indirect effect of healthier diet on reduced asthma symptoms mediated by lower BMI (OR for AHEI-2010 >median vs ≤median=1.02 (1.00–1.03)) without significant total (OR=1.12 (0.94–1.34)) nor direct effects (OR=1.10 (0.93–1.31)).
CONCLUSION: A healthy diet was associated with reduced risk of asthma symptoms over time, partly through a lower BMI.
CITATION:
Wassila Ait-hadad ; Annabelle Bédard ; Laurent Orsi ; Sébastien Chanoine ; Orianne Dumas ; Nasser Laouali ; Nicole Le Moual ; Bénédicte Leynaert ; Valérie Siroux ; Marie-Christine Boutron-Ruault ; Raphaëlle Varraso (2025): Mediating role of the body mass index in the prospective association between a healthy diet and evolution of asthma symptoms in elderly women. The Journal of Aging and Lifestyle (JARLife). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jarlif.2025.100011