Written by Harold Oster, MD. Results suggest that consuming prebiotic foods is associated with a lower incidence of allergic rhinitis.
Allergic rhinitis is a common disease characterized by rhinorrhea, nasal congestion, and sneezing. The underlying cause of allergic rhinitis is not well understood1. Several studies have shown a link between alterations in the intestinal microbiota and immunologic and allergic conditions2. Prebiotics are non-digestible food ingredients that allow fermentation and growth of intestinal bacteria beneficial to health. Prebiotics may have benefits in the treatment and prevention of some allergic diseases3.
Chao Chang et al. studied the relationship between consumption of prebiotics and the incidence of allergic rhinitis in participants of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a population-based cross-sectional study conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. From NHANES data, which had been collected by questionnaire, the authors gathered information on participants regarding the diagnosis of allergic rhinitis and possible confounding variables, including hypertension, diabetes, cancer, obesity, smoking, and alcohol intake. Participants who had noted on a dietary questionnaire that they consumed any food from a list of known prebiotics were designated prebiotic users. Participants of NHANES with missing values were excluded from the study, leaving 2005 participants in the final analysis.
The authors noted the following:
- There were 867 participants with allergic rhinitis and 1138 without allergic rhinitis.
- Participants with allergic rhinitis were less likely to have taken prebiotics than those who did not have allergic rhinitis. (1.73% vs 4.15%)
- The odds ratio of developing allergic rhinitis for those taking prebiotics was 0.42.
- Adjusting for known covariables did not significantly affect the above results.
- Of the participants who consumed prebiotics, those younger than 65 and older than eighty had a lower risk of having allergic rhinitis. Those between 65 and eighty years old who consumed prebiotics did not have a lower risk of allergic rhinitis.
Results suggest that consumption of prebiotic foods is associated with a decreased risk of allergic rhinitis. Limitations include a lack of detail on the amount and frequency of prebiotics consumed and the use of a questionnaire as the only tool to confirm the diagnosis of allergic rhinitis.
Source: Chang, Chao, Qiuyang Wang, Xiaodan Li, Huazhang Tan, and Guoxin Huang. “The relationship between prebiotic intake and allergic rhinitis.” Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology (2023).
© 2023 The Authors. Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The Triological Society.
Click here to read the full text study.
Posted December 4, 2023.
Harold Oster, MD graduated from medical school in Miami, Florida in 1992 and moved to Minnesota in 2004. After more than 25 years of practicing Internal Medicine, he recently retired. Dr. Oster is especially interested in nutrition, weight management, and disease prevention. Visit his website at haroldoster.com.
References:
- Meng Y, Wang C, Zhang L. Recent developments and highlights in allergic rhinitis. Allergy. Dec 2019;74(12):2320-2328. doi:10.1111/all.14067
- McCoy KD, Köller Y. New developments providing mechanistic insight into the impact of the microbiota on allergic disease. Clin Immunol. Aug 2015;159(2):170-6. doi:10.1016/j.clim.2015.05.007
- Brosseau C, Selle A, Palmer DJ, Prescott SL, Barbarot S, Bodinier M. Prebiotics: Mechanisms and Preventive Effects in Allergy. Nutrients. Aug 8 2019;11(8)doi:10.3390/nu11081841
