Prenatal Fish Oil Supplementation and Allergy: 6-Year Follow-up of a Randomized Controlled Trial

Study answer

What this study found

Prenatal n-3 LCPUFA supplementation did not reduce overall IgE-associated allergic disease at age 6. The primary composite outcome was essentially identical between groups: 116/367 (31.48%) in the n-3 LCPUFA group versus 106/336 (31.46%) in control, aRR 1.04 (95% CI 0.82-1.33; P = .73). House dust mite sensitization was lower in the supplemented group, 49 (13.42%) versus 68 (20.30%), aRR 0.67 (95% CI 0.44-1.00; P = .0495), but eczema, wheeze, rhinitis, rhino-conjunctivitis, asthma, and hayfever outcomes were not significantly different. The authors concluded that prenatal n-3 LCPUFA did not…

Study & population

Randomized controlled trial with 6-year follow-up of children born to mothers with a family history of allergic disease.

Intervention

Pregnant participants in the active arm received oral capsules containing 500 mg of fish oil concentrate, providing approximately 800 mg/day DHA and 100 mg/day EPA, taken daily from 21 weeks' gestation until delivery.

Key limitation

The main clinical outcome was negative, and the positive house dust mite finding was secondary and borderline significant.

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Original abstract