New research suggests that higher intake of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids in childhood may reduce the risk of subsequent asthma, but only in children carrying a common variant of the gene, Pannochka, an online publication for girls and women aged 14 to 35, reports.. net The study, led by Queen Mary University of London, is being conducted in collaboration with the University of Bristol and the University of Southampton (UK) and the Karolinska Institute (Sweden), Medical Xpress reports.

Senior author Professor Seif Shaheen of Queen Mary University of London said: “Asthma is the most common chronic illness in childhood and we currently do not know how to prevent it.. It is possible that poor diet may increase the risk of developing asthma, but so far most studies have done snap-shots measuring diet and asthma over a short period of time.. Instead, we measured our diet and then followed the children over the years to see who developed asthma and who did not.. While we cannot say with certainty that eating more fish will prevent asthma in children based on our findings, it would nonetheless be wise for some children to consume more fish as few are currently reaching the recommended intake.. ”Fish is of particular interest because it is a rich source of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which have anti-inflammatory properties.

The study, published in the European Respiratory Journal, used data from a large UK birth cohort of the 90s that recruited mothers who were pregnant in the early 1990s and have followed their offspring ever since.. They analyzed the association between EPA and DHA intake from fish at age 7 (as measured by frequency of food intake questionnaires) and the frequency of new cases of physician-diagnosed asthma at age 11-14..

Long-chain omega-3 intake from fish was not associated with asthma in the overall cohort (4,543 individuals). However, the team looked more closely at children with a specific genetic makeup..

More than half of the children carried a common variant in the fatty acid desaturase (FADS) gene, which is associated with lower levels of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids in the blood. In these children, a higher intake of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids was associated with a lower risk of asthma - almost 51% lower.

The next step is to see if the higher intake is also associated with a lower risk of flare-ups in children who already have asthma..

med-heal. ru.