Environmental and occupational respiratory disordersOmega-3 and omega-6 fatty acid exposure from early life does not affect atopy and asthma at age 5 years
Section snippets
Study design and subjects
CAPS is a randomized controlled trial designed to test the effectiveness of interventions to reduce house dust mite levels and to increase the intake of omega-3 fatty acids through a supplement, both separately and in combination, on the presence of asthma and allergic diseases. The design of the study, sample recruitment, criteria for inclusion, and data collection procedures have been described in detail elsewhere.10 In brief, pregnant women whose unborn child had at least 1 parent or sibling
Results
Outcome data at age 5 years were available for 516 participants (83.8% of the 616 randomized subjects). Of these, 375 (72.6%) completed the spirometry, and 488 (94.6%) had skin prick tests. Blood samples were taken from 393 (71.5%) at 18 months, 400 (75.5%) at 3 years, and 396 (76.7%) at 5 years. WFRs were available for 424 (77.1%) subjects at 18 months, and FFQs were completed by 456 (86.0%) subjects at 3 years. Compliance information was available for all 516 children at 5 years. Complete
Discussion
We found no association between plasma levels of omega-3 or omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids at 18 months, 3 years, and 5 years and the prevalence of asthma or wheezing illness, eczema, or atopy at 5 years. Furthermore, the overall effect of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, based on information about plasma levels, intake from supplements, and intake from diet revealed no association with these clinical outcomes. These negative results strengthen the main result from the randomized
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Cited by (0)
Supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia, the Cooperative Research Center for Asthma, the New South Wales Department of Health, and the Children's Hospital at Westmead. Catarina Almqvist was funded by the Swedish Heart Lung Foundation and the Swedish Society of Medicine. Frances Garden was funded through the NSW Biostatistical Officer Training Program, NSW Department of Health. Contributions of goods and services were made by Allergopharma Joachim Ganzer KG Germany, John Sands Australia, Hasbro, Toll Refrigerated, AstraZeneca Australia, and Nu-Mega Ingredients Pty Ltd. Goods were provided at reduced cost by Auspharm, Allersearch, and Goodman Fielder Foods.
Disclosure of potential conflict of interest: The authors have declared that they have no conflict of interest.