Consuming oily fish during pregnancy may reduce asthma risk in children: New Study

Children born to mothers who consume salmon during pregnancy may have a lower risk of developing asthma compared to kids whose mothers do not eat it, a new study has claimed.

Researchers led by Philip Calder from University of Southampton in the UK conducted the Salmon in Pregnancy Study, a randomised controlled trial in which a group of women ate salmon twice a week from week 19 of pregnancy. Allergy tests were then performed on the children at six months and then at two to three years of age.

Results were compared to a control group whose mothers did not eat salmon during pregnancy. The findings showed that at six months there was no difference in allergy rate between the two groups of children.

However, at age two and half years, children whose mothers ate salmon while pregnant were less likely to have asthma. Calder's previous research has shown that certain fatty acids - or a lack of them - are involved in a broad spectrum of common diseases ranging from diverse allergies through to atherosclerosis and inflammatory conditions such as Crohn's disease

The study was presented at the annual Experimental Biology Congress in San Diego, US.