Mechanisms of asthma and allergic inflammationUmbilical cord and maternal blood red cell fatty acids and early childhood wheezing and eczema☆
Section snippets
Methods
The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC)8., 9. is a prospective study of 14,541 pregnancies that resulted in 14,062 live births (born to 13,866 mothers), of whom 13,988 survived to 1 year. Women were enrolled as early in pregnancy as possible on the basis of an expected date of delivery between April 1, 1991, and December 31, 1992, and place of residence within the 3 Bristol-based health districts of the former county of Avon, United Kingdom. It was estimated that 85% to 90%
Results
We examined the distribution of selected maternal and birth characteristics of children with and without cord and maternal blood fatty acid data (see Table EI in the Online Repository). Children with cord blood fatty acid data were born between January 1991 and January 1992, and children without data were born between February 1991 and February 1993. The ranges of birth dates for children with and without maternal blood fatty acid data were more similar. The main difference between children
Discussion
In this population-based follow-up study, we have not found convincing evidence that higher exposure to n-6 versus n-3 fatty acids in utero promotes the development of eczema or wheezing in early childhood, although the cord blood findings for the AA:EPA ratio and eczema and for the LA:ALA ratio and later-onset wheeze were in keeping with this hypothesis.
Conclusion
It seems unlikely that prenatal n-6:n-3 fatty acid exposure is an important determinant of wheezing and atopic disease in early childhood; however, further exploration of our cord findings in other studies would be of interest. In future analyses, we will examine relations of maternal and cord fatty acid exposures with atopic outcomes at school age and will also explore the role of maternal diet. Furthermore, the possible role of postnatal fatty acid intake in the inception, persistence, and
Acknowledgements
We thank all of the parents and children who provided data for this study and the midwives for their cooperation and help in recruitment. The whole ALSPAC study team is composed of interviewers, computer technicians, laboratory technicians, clerical workers, research scientists, volunteers, and managers who continue to make the study possible. The ALSPAC study is part of the World Health Organization-initiated European Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood. We thank the laboratory staff
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Supported by the United Kingdom Medical Research Council. Dr Shaheen and Dr Newson were funded by the United Kingdom Department of Health. Core funding for the long-term follow-up of the ALSPAC cohort came from the United Kingdom Medical Research Council, the Wellcome Trust, the United Kingdom Department of Health, the Department of the Environment, the Department for Education and Employment, the National Institutes of Health, and a variety of medical research charities and other sponsors.