Hye Lim Shin, MS
,
Asan Institute for Life Sciences, Seoul, South Korea
Yun-Jeong Lee, MD
,
Department of Pediatrics, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea
Joonil Kim, MD
,
Department of Pediatrics, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea
Song-I Yang, MD
,
Department of Pediatrics, Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital, Anyang, South Korea
So-Yeon Lee, MD
,
Department of Pediatrics, Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital, Anyang, South Korea
Young-Ho Jung, MD
,
Department of Pediatrics, Bundang CHA Medical Center, CHA University School of Medicine, Seongnam, South Korea
Sung-Ok Kwon, PhD
,
Department of Food and Nutrition, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea
Eun Lee, MD
,
Department of Pediatrics, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea
Yean Jung Choi, PhD
,
Asan Institute for Life Sciences, Seoul, South Korea
Mi-Jin Kang, MS
,
Asan Institute for Life Science, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea
Ji-Won Kwon, MD
,
Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, South Korea
Hyung Young Kim, MD
,
Department of Pediatrics, Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital, Yangsan, South Korea
Ju-Hee Seo, MD
,
Department of Pediatrics, Korea Cancer Center Hospital, Seoul, South Korea
Byoung-Ju Kim, MD
,
Department of Environmental Health, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH
Hyo-Bin Kim, MD
,
Department of Pediatrics, Inje University Sanggye Paik Hospital, Seoul, South Korea
Ho-Jang Kwon, PhD
,
Department of Preventive Medicine, Dankook University College of Medicine, Cheonan, South Korea
Se-Young Oh, PhD
,
Department of Food and Nutrition, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea
Soo-Jong Hong, MD, PhD
,
Department of Pediatrics, Childhood Asthma Atopy Center, Environmental Health Center, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea
Soo-Jong Hong, MD, PhD
,
Department of Pediatrics, Childhood Asthma Atopy Center, Environmental Health Center, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea
Hyun-Ju Cho, MD
,
Asan Medical Center Seoul Korea, Seoul, South Korea
Young-Ho Kim, MD
,
Asthma/Allergy Center, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea
Background and objectiveRecent data have shown that the prevalence of asthma and allergic disease continuously increase. Some diet can prevent asthma or allergic disease by epigenetic change, including DNA methylation. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between dietary methyl donors (folate, vitamin B2, vitamin B6) and the development of asthma and allergic sensitization in children.
Methods
Children aged 7-13 years in a Korean elementary school were surveyed in 2006 as part of the first Children's Health and Environmental Research (CHEER) survey and 2,333 children were included in this study. Korean version of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire and food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) were done by their parents. The skin prick test was performed using 18 common allergens in Korea. Genotyping for MTHFR (rs1801133) polymorphism was performed by TaqMan assay.
Results
Dietary folate intake was a protective factor for wheezing symptoms in the past 12 months (aOR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.53-0.91) and asthma diagnosis (aOR, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.53-0.99) and vitamin B6 was also related to reduced risk of allergen sensitization (aOR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.56-0.99). High intake of folate, vitamin B2 and vitamin B6 was a protective factor for allergen sensitization [(aOR, 0.48; 95% CI, 0.25-0.93), (aOR, 0.50; 95% CI, 0.26-0.95) and (aOR, 0.40; 95% CI, 0.21-0.76), respectively] and atopic wheezing symptoms in the past 12 months [(aOR, 0.17; 95% CI, 0,04-0.80), (aOR, 0.26; 95% CI, 0,07-1.01) and (aOR, 0.26; 95% CI, 0,07-0.99), respectively], especially in CT or TT genotype at nucleotide 677T MTHFR compared to those with low intake and CC at this position.
Conclusions
These results indicate that dietary methyl donors decrease the risk of asthma and atopy, which may be modified by MTHFR polymorphism.
Funding
This study was supported by a grant of the Environmental Health Center and Children’s Health and Environmental Research funded by the Ministry of Environment, Republic of Korea
Keywords
Asthma, Sensitization, Folate, Methyl donors, MTHFR, Polymorphism
