Approximately 5 percent of Americans have asthma, with half of these cases developing during early childhood. Asthma is a respiratory disease caused by inflammation of the airways. Previous studies have suggested that vitamin E may improve lung function and airway inflammation. Now research reports that low levels of vitamin E in mothers during pregnancy can increase the risk of their children developing asthma. The study results suggest that vitamin E supplementation during pregnancy may reduce the risk of childhood asthma.
The study, published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, examined whether dietary vitamin E during pregnancy affected the risk of asthma in young children. Researchers at the University of Aberdeen in the UK, analyzed the data of 1,253 mothers and 1,120 of their children. Food frequency questionnaires obtained from the mothers at the beginning of the study were analyzed to determine dietary and supplemental vitamin E intake. Five years later, food frequency questionnaires were completed by the mothers for their children. Respiratory and skin-prick testing were also obtained from the children at this time.
The researchers found that higher maternal vitamin E intake during pregnancy was linked with a lower risk of asthma in children. Children were five times more likely to develop asthma if mothers were in the lowest 20 percent of vitamin E intake. Findings also revealed that higher maternal zinc intake during pregnancy was linked with a lower risk of asthma in children. However, the children's vitamin E intake didn't appear to be linked to asthma.
"Maternal intake of foods containing vitamin E and zinc during pregnancy is associated with differences in the risks of developing childhood wheeze and asthma," the study authors conclude.
REFERENCES:
1. Devereux G et al. Low maternal vitamin E intake during pregnancy is associated with asthma in 5-year-old children. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2006 Sep 1;174(5):499-507. Epub 2006 Jun 8.
Posted by Elaine Gavalas on December 24, 2006 12:48 PM
