A high-quality diet can improve lung function and slow its age-related decline, particularly in people with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, researchers have found.
In a study published in the medical journal ERJ Open Research, scientists analyzed health and dietary data from 83,460 participants in the Lifelines project. The research team evaluated each participant's diet quality using the Lifelines Diet Score index and compared the scores directly against respiratory function measurements.
ERJ Open Research is an open-access, peer-reviewed medical journal published by the European Respiratory Society that focuses on respiratory health and disease. The Lifelines project is a multi-generational Dutch population cohort study and biobank tracking the health outcomes and lifestyle factors of tens of thousands of participants.
Dietary impacts on lung capacity
A subgroup of the project volunteers was monitored for approximately 10 years. Researchers discovered that individuals who maintained healthier diets achieved consistently better results in forced expiratory volume in one second, known as FEV1, alongside other key respiratory function parameters. This positive association was most pronounced among individuals diagnosed with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
FEV1 is a standard spirometry measurement that calculates the volume of air an individual can forcibly exhale during the first second of a breath test. Along with forced vital capacity, which measures the total volume of air exhaled during a forced breath, FEV1 is a primary clinical metric used by pulmonologists to assess airway obstruction.
Long-term tracking in COPD patients
Extended monitoring of 37,752 participants demonstrated that higher dietary quality among COPD patients correlated with a significantly slower decline in key respiratory indicators over time. These protected metrics included FEV1, forced vital capacity, and the ratio between the two measurements.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a progressive, long-term inflammatory lung condition that causes restricted airflow and breathing difficulties. Asthma similarly involves chronic inflammation and narrowing of the bronchial passages, leading to recurrent wheezing and shortness of breath.
The authors of the study concluded that nutrition represents one of the key lifestyle factors capable of directly influencing respiratory health. Earlier research indicated that regular physical activity also helps the immune system fight lung cancer.
