The effects of increasing fruit and vegetable intake in children with asthma: A randomized controlled trial.

Background A high fruit and vegetable (FV this has not been examined in children to date. Objective To investigate the effect of a 6-month, high F&V diet on the time to first asthma exacerbation in children with asthma, in a parallel-group, randomized, controlled trial. Methods Children (aged 3-11 years) with asthma, history of exacerbations and usual low F&V intake (≤3 serves/day) were randomized to the intervention (high F&V diet) or control group (usual diet) for 6 months. The primary outcome was time to first exacerbation requiring medical intervention. Secondary outcomes included exacerbation rate, lung function, plasma TNF-α, CRP, and IL-6, faecal microbiota and peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) histone deacetylase (HDAC) activity and G-protein coupled receptor (GPR) 41/43 and HDAC (1-11) expression. Results 67 children were randomized between September 2015 and July 2018. F&V intake (difference in change (∆): 3.5 serves/day, 95% CI: [2.6, 4.4] p Conclusion & clinical relevance A high F&V diet did not affect asthma exacerbations over the 6-month intervention, though warrants further investigation as a strategy for improving lung function and protecting against systemic inflammation in children with asthma.