9 October 2004
AUSTRALIA: OMEGA-3s REDUCED COUGH IN HIGH-RISK ASTHMATIC CHILDREN
MILWAUKEE -- A diet including high levels of omega-3 fatty acids may
decrease the development of cough in children with a high risk for asthma,
according to a study in the October 2004 Journal of Allergy & Clinical
Immunology (JACI).
Previous studies have shown that children and adults who eat oily
fish, which contains a high concentration of omega-3 fatty acid, have a
lower prevalence of asthma symptoms.
As part of the Childhood Asthma Prevention Study, Jennifer K. Peat,
PhD, University of Sydney, Australia, and colleagues measured the effects
of dietary supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids in 616 children with a
high risk of developing asthma. Omega-3 fatty acids decrease the production
of the mediators that facilitate airway inflammation.
The aim of the study was to increase the proportion of omega-3 fatty
acids in the diet and decrease the proportion of omega-6 fatty acids, which
play a role in increasing airway inflammation. The children were randomly
assigned to either a dietary intervention group or a control group.
Children in the dietary intervention group received tuna fish oil
capsules to add to each meal and were provided with canola-based oils and
spreads, which are high in omega-3 fatty acids, and low in omega-6 fatty
acids, to use in all food preparation.
The control group received placebo capsules and were provided with
widely used soybean-based polyunsaturated oils and margarines high in
omega-6 fatty acids for use in all food preparation.
At three years of age, the proportion of omega-3 fatty acids was
higher in the intervention group than in the placebo group. Researchers
found that the dietary intervention significantly re duced the prevalence
of cough in children with a high risk of developing asthma.
While the intervention showed no effect on the prevalence of asthma,
it is believed that cough at age three can be associated with allergic
inflammation of the airways and that the dietary intervention was effective
in reducing this inflammation.