Protective effect of fruits, vegetables and the Mediterranean diet on asthma and allergies among children in Crete.

Background: Atopy is not uncommon among children living in rural Crete, but wheeze and rhinitis are rare. A study was undertaken to examine whether this discrepancy could be attributed to a high consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables or adherence to a traditional Mediterranean diet.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was performed in 690 children aged 7-18 years in rural Crete.

The effects of farming and birth order on asthma and allergies.

A farm childhood is apparently protective in allergic disease, but studies of this issue in Europe have been confined to particular types of farming practice. This study addressed whether or not this effect was generalisable. A cross-sectional survey of 800 schoolchildren living in rural Crete was undertaken.

Crete: does farming explain urban and rural differences in atopy?

Background: Urban-rural differences in the prevalence of atopy and associated allergic diseases have been reported in several non-European countries. Within Europe, where such variations are less striking, a farm childhood has been postulated to be protective.

Objective: We aimed to compare the prevalence of atopy in urban and rural children living in Crete and to examine the role of early exposure to a farming environment in explaining any measured differences.