Associations of sugar-containing beverages with asthma prevalence in 11-year-old children: the PIAMA birth cohort

Background/objectives:Recently, a few studies have linked soft drink consumption to increased asthma risk, but the contribution of different types of soft drinks is unknown. We investigated cross-sectional associations between six different types of soft drinks and asthma in 11-year-old children.Subjects/methods:We analyzed data of 2406 children participating in the Dutch Prevention and Incidence of Asthma and Mite Allergy birth cohort. At age 11, children self-reported consumption of sugar-added drinks, diet drinks, sweetened milk drinks, 100% fruit juice, energy drinks and sport drinks. The definition of asthma was based on parental reports of wheezing, prescription of inhaled corticosteroids and doctor's diagnosis of asthma.Results:The prevalence of asthma in this study was 5.8%. In adjusted logistic regression analyses, asthma risk was increased for high (⩾10 glasses/week (gl/wk) versus low (21.5 gl/wk) versus low (