Pilot randomised trial of a healthy eating behavioural intervention in uncontrolled asthma.

Rigorous research on the benefit of healthy eating patterns for asthma control is lacking.

We randomized 90 adults with objectively confirmed uncontrolled asthma and a low-quality diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) scores <6 out of 9) to a 6-month DASH behavioral intervention (n=46) or usual-care control (n=44). Intention-to-treat analyses used repeated-measures mixed models. Participants were middle-aged, 67% female and multiethnic.

Compared with controls, intervention participants improved on DASH scores (mean change (95% CI) 0.6 (0, 1.1) versus -0.3 (-0.8, 0.2); difference 0.8 (0.2, 1.5)) and the primary outcome, Asthma Control Questionnaire scores (-0.2 (-0.5, 0) versus 0 (-0.3, 0.3); difference -0.2 (-0.5, 0.1)) at 6 months. The mean group differences in changes in Mini Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire overall and subdomain scores consistently favored the intervention over the control group: overall 0.4 (95% CI 0, 0.8), symptoms 0.5 (0, 0.9), environment 0.4 (-0.1, 1.0), emotions 0.4 (-0.2, 0.9) and activities 0.3 (0, 0.7). These differences were modest, but potentially clinical significant.

The DASH behavioral intervention improved diet quality with promising clinical benefits for better asthma control and functional status among adults with uncontrolled asthma. A full-scale efficacy trial is warranted.