Polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation in infancy for the prevention of allergy.

Study answer

What this study found

PUFA supplementation in infancy did not show a clear overall reduction in allergic disease in infancy or childhood, and the certainty of evidence was very low. The review found no clear benefit for asthma, dermatitis/eczema, or food allergy. There was limited evidence that maternal PUFA supplementation may reduce infant incidence of allergic rhinitis, based on two studies totaling 594 infants: RR 0.47, 95% CI 0.23 to 0.96, I2 = 6%; RD -0.04, 95% CI -0.08 to -0.00; NNTB 25. For infant incidence of all allergic disease, one contributing study reported RR 0.96, 95% CI 0.73 to 1.26, and for…

Study & population

Systematic review of randomized trials in infants enrolled in the first year of life without clinical allergy at baseline, including term and preterm infants, formula-fed and breastfed infants, and both lower-risk and high-risk populations.

Intervention

This review evaluated higher polyunsaturated fatty acid intake in infancy, either through direct infant supplementation or maternal supplementation during pregnancy or lactation, compared with control formulas or oils.

Key limitation

The evidence base was very low quality and came from heterogeneous interventions, populations, and outcome definitions.

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Original abstract