Researchers have discovered that higher dietary consumption of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids during childhood may help reduce the risk of developing asthma in adulthood for people of a certain gene type.
The study, published in the European Respiratory Journal, used data from a large UK birth cohort called Children of the 90s. It was found that the risk of asthma was 51 per cent lower in those in the top quartile of long-chain omega-3 intake compared to those in the bottom quartile. The same observational finding was also echoed in a Swedish birth cohort.
However, the researchers caution their analysis is only associational and cannot be used to conclude causation.