Omega-3 fatty acid intake during pregnancy reduces risk of asthma in children: Study
31 Dec 2016
A new study has concluded that would-be-mothers could reduce the risk of childhood chronic wheezing problems and asthma in their children with certain omega-3 fatty acid supplements in the third trimester of pregnancy.
According to the research published in the New England Journal of Medicine, women who were prescribed 2.4 grams of long-chain omega-3 supplements during the third trimester of pregnancy reduced their children's risk of asthma by 31 per cent.
Long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, which include Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA) and Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) can be obtained from cold water fish and are key to regulating human immune response.
"We've long suspected there was a link between the anti-inflammatory properties of long-chain omega-3 fats, the low intakes of omega-3 in Western diets and the rising rates of childhood asthma," said Hans Bisgaard of COPSAC at the Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark, ANI reported.
"This study proves that they are definitively and significantly related," he added.
In the study, researchers used rapid analytical techniques developed and performed at the University of Waterloo in Canada to measure levels of EPA and DHA in pregnant women's blood.
"Measuring the levels of omega-3 fatty acids in blood provides an accurate and precise assessment of nutrient status," said lead researcher Ken Stark.
"Our labs are uniquely equipped to measure fatty acids quickly, extremely precisely and in a cost-efficient manner," he added.
The researchers analysed blood samples of 695 Danish women at 24 weeks' gestation and one week after delivery and then monitored the health status of each participating child for five years. Asthma symptoms can be clinically established at the age.
The testing further revealed that women with low blood levels of EPA and DHA reported the most gains from the supplements.
For these women, the treatment reduced their children's relative risk of developing the disease by 54 per cent, according to the findings published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
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