Asthma is an inflammatory disease that affects the airways of the lungs. Childhood asthma has increased significantly since the 1960s.
Asthma is a disease in which the airways become restricted and is characterized by wheezing and coughing. The wheezing sound comes as the air squeezes through the narrowed airways.
Asthma can affect the activities of children as having this particular disease can be debilitating and affects the quality of life for the sufferers.
It is now thought that pregnant women who take omega-3 fatty acid can significantly reduce the risk of their babies developing asthma by as much as one-third.
New England Journal of Medicine published a journal that reports women who received 2.4 grams of long-chain omega-3 supplements reduced as much as 31 percent of the risk of asthma developing in the children. The supplements were administered in the last three months of their pregnancy.
Scientists have long known about the anti-inflammatory properties and are beneficial in terms of regulating the immune response in humans.
The University of Waterloo in Canada and the Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood (COPSAC) conducted the study comprising of 700 Danish women.
Professor Hans Bisgaard of COPSAC at University of Copenhagen University Hospital stated that they have long suspected the link between low intake of omega-3 fatty acids in western countries and the rising rate of Childhood asthma as was reported in Science Daily.
In the study, scientists measured the levels of omega-3 fatty acids during the 24 weeks of pregnancy and one week after childbirth. The scientists then monitored the health of the children for five years. The study found that women with low levels of fatty acids at the start of the study had benefited the most as reported in VAO News.
The new finding is significant and further studies will be aimed on how to apply the research results in future medical care to minimize the onset of asthma in children.
