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Formula with long‐chain polyunsaturated fatty acids reduces incidence of allergy in early childhood
Author(s) -
Foiles Amanda M.,
Kerling Elizabeth H.,
Wick Jo A.,
Scalabrin Deolinda M. F.,
Colombo John,
Carlson Susan E.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
pediatric allergy and immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.269
H-Index - 89
eISSN - 1399-3038
pISSN - 0905-6157
DOI - 10.1111/pai.12515
Subject(s) - medicine , polyunsaturated fatty acid , allergy , incidence (geometry) , immunology , fatty acid , biochemistry , chemistry , physics , optics
Background Allergy has sharply increased in affluent Western countries in the last 30 years. N‐3 long‐chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (n‐3 LCPUFA s) may protect the immune system against development of allergy. Methods We prospectively categorized illnesses by body system in a subset of 91 children from the Kansas City cohort of the DIAMOND ( DHA Intake and Measurement of Neural Development) study who had yearly medical records through 4 years of age. As infants, they were fed either a control formula without LCPUFA (n = 19) or one of three formulas with LCPUFA from docosahexaenoic acid ( DHA ) and arachidonic acid ( ARA ) (n = 72). Results Allergic illnesses in the first year were lower in the combined LCPUFA group compared to the control. LCPUFA s significantly delayed time to first allergic illness (p = 0.04) and skin allergic illness (p = 0.03) and resulted in a trend to reduced wheeze/asthma (p = 0.1). If the mother had no allergies, LCPUFA s reduced the risk of any allergic diseases ( HR = 0.24, 95% CI = 0.1, 0.56, p = 0.0.001) and skin allergic diseases ( HR = 0.35, 95% CI = 0.13, 0.93, p = 0.04). In contrast, if the mother had allergies, LCPUFA s reduced wheezing/asthma ( HR = 0.26, 95% CI = 0.07, 0.9, p = 0.02). Conclusions LCPUFA supplementation during infancy reduced the risk of skin and respiratory allergic diseases in childhood with effects influenced by maternal allergies.