Oily fish best: fish consumption in pregnancy may foretell child's asthma risk.(Obstetrics)

ORLANDO, FLA. -- The type of fish a woman consumes during pregnancy may affect the risk of her child developing asthma, Dr. Frank D. Gilliland said at the 100th International Conference of the American Thoracic Society.

"We found maternal oily-fish intake was strongly protective in mothers who had a family history of asthma," Dr. Gilliland, a professor and researcher in the department of preventive medicine at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, said during a press conference at the meeting. The children "had a 70% reduction in their risk of asthma, and this was not observed in children with no family history."

Oily fish, which are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, include yellowtail and cold-water fish like salmon, trout, and orange roughy. Eating oily fish on a regular basis a few times a month seemed sufficient to confer benefit, and the more oily fish a pregnant woman ate, the lower the risk of asthma in her child.

Using data from the Children's Health Study, a population-based study of school-aged children in 12 Southern California communities, Dr. Gilliland and associates conducted a nested, countermatched, case-control study to evaluate whether maternal fish consumption affected the children's asthma risk. The investigators studied 271 children who were diagnosed with asthma by age 5 and 412 asthma-free children who served as controls. The researchers completed telephone interviews with the mothers, collecting dietary and environmental exposure information.

In March 2004, the Food and Drug Administration issued a consumer advisory about methylmercury in fish and shellfish. Because mercury presents a risk to a developing nervous system, the advisory recommends that pregnant women strictly avoid fish that are high in ...