American Journal of Epidemiology Advance Access published online on December 5, 2007
American Journal of Epidemiology, doi:10.1093/aje/kwm343
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Original Contribution |
Dietary Fiber, Lung Function, and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study
1 Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Research Triangle Park, NC
2 Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
3 Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Correspondence to Dr. Stephanie J. London, Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, P.O. Box 12233, Mail Drop A3-05, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 (e-mail: london2{at}niehs.nih.gov).
Received for publication June 28, 2007. Accepted for publication October 25, 2007.
Recent data suggest beneficial effects of fiber intake on chronic respiratory symptoms in adults that are independent of antioxidant vitamin intake, but little is known about fiber consumption in relation to lung function and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The authors investigated the association of fiber intake with lung function and COPD in 11,897 US men and women from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study (1987–1989). After control for potential confounders, positive associations were found between lung function and fiber intake from all sources as well as from cereal or fruit alone. Compared with those in the lowest quintile, participants in the highest quintile of total fiber intake had a 60.2-ml higher forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) (p for trend < 0.001), 55.2-ml higher forced vital capacity (FVC) (p = 0.001), 0.4% higher FEV1/FVC ratio (p = 0.040), 1.8% higher percent predicted FEV1 (p < 0.001), and 1.4% higher percent predicted FVC (p = 0.001). Adjusted odds ratios of COPD for the highest versus lowest quintiles of intake were 0.85 (p = 0.044) for total fiber, 0.83 (p = 0.021) for cereal fiber, and 0.72 (p = 0.005) for fruit fiber. This study provides the first known evidence that dietary fiber is independently associated with better lung function and reduced prevalence of COPD.
dietary fiber; forced expiratory volume; pulmonary disease, chronic obstructive; respiratory function tests; vital capacity
Abbreviations: ARIC, Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; FEV1, forced expiratory volume in 1 second; FVC, forced vital capacity