Grantee Research Project Results
Urban Dietary Effects on the Asthmatic Response to Pollutants
EPA Grant Number: R834510C001Subproject: this is subproject number 001 , established and managed by the Center Director under grant R834510
(EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
Center: Center for the Study of Childhood Asthma in the Urban Environment
Center Director: Hansel, Nadia
Title: Urban Dietary Effects on the Asthmatic Response to Pollutants
Investigators: Diette, Greg
Institution: The Johns Hopkins University
EPA Project Officer: Hahn, Intaek
Project Period: September 1, 2009 through August 31, 2015
RFA: Children's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research Centers (with NIEHS) (2009) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Children's Health , Human Health
Objective:
Asthma is a common and complex disorder. In the U.S., the burden of asthma is enormous, with a disproportionate impact on vulnerable groups including young children, African-Americans and those living in the inner city. These most vulnerable people often inhabit an environment that has excessive pollution levels, including high levels of indoor pollutants and allergens. Furthermore, the diet of low-income, inner city African-Americans is markedly inconsistent with national nutritional guidelines, and has a pattern that may leave them especially vulnerable to the effects of inhaled pollutants and allergens. To address the critical questions of the role of dietary intake and the indoor environment on childhood asthma, we propose a panel study of children living in urban neighborhoods enriched with African-American and lower income participants. We have already shown that in the neighborhoods of the proposed study participants that inhome pollutant levels, including particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), greatly exceed the outdoor levels and suburban indoor levels and that these in-home pollutants are independently associated with increased asthma morbidity. Furthermore, we have already demonstrated that the diet in this high-risk population is poor and is of a pattern that is inconsistent with dietary patterns that have been shown to protect against asthma.
Expected Results:
We plan to examine the effect of the poor "inner city" diet on susceptibility of asthmatic children to in-home pollutant (PM and NO2) exposure (Aim 1), and to identify barriers and enabling factors to implementing dietary and environmental modifications in inner city homes of children with asthma (Aim 2). To address these aims will plan to recruit 200 children with asthma, ages 5-12, in inner city Baltimore, each of whom will undergo 3 seven-day monitoring periods (at baseline, 3 months and 6 months) where they will undergo indoor air monitoring, dietary and respiratory assessments, nasal lavage, exhaled nitric oxide measurements, urine collection and blood draw for markers of inflammation and oxidative stress. Importantly, the aims in this application build upon the well-established infrastructure of a group of experienced investigators with diverse but highly integrated areas of expertise. This realworld field-based study will complement the findings from Projects 2 and 3 by demonstrating the clinical effect of diet on response to indoor pollutants, and by providing corroborative evidence of the oxidative stress and inflammatory pathways by which they may act. Projects 2 and 3 will similariy examine the effects of diet on response to pollutants, but in controlled settings using human subjects and animal
Supplemental Keywords:
air, ambient air, indoor air, exposure, risk, health effects, human health, metabolism, vulnerability, sensitive populations, animal, population, children, race, diet, sex, ethnic groups, susceptibility, particulates, nitrogen oxides, community-based, observation, engineering, epidemiology, biology, monitoring, measurement methods, Mid-Atlantic, Maryland, MD,, Health, Scientific Discipline, Health Risk Assessment, Allergens/Asthma, Biology, asthma triggers, asthma indices, airway inflammation, air pollution, children, diet, oxidant stressProgress and Final Reports:
Main Center Abstract and Reports:
R834510 Center for the Study of Childhood Asthma in the Urban Environment Subprojects under this Center: (EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
R834510C001 Urban Dietary Effects on the Asthmatic Response to Pollutants
R834510C002 Dietary Interventions in Asthma Treatment
R834510C003 Dissecting the Diet-Asthma Relationship in Mice Models of Asthma
The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.