Eating Fish in Infancy Lowers Eczema Risk
Sept. 25, 2008 - There is early evidence that eating fish in infancy may help protect against eczema in early childhood.
Babies in a newly published study whose diets included fish before the age of 9 months were 24% less likely to develop eczema by their first birthdays than babies who did not eat fish.
The infants were enrolled in an ongoing health study in Sweden that is following almost 17,000 children from birth though childhood.
Having a mother or sibling with eczema was the strongest risk factor for developing the allergic skin condition during the first year of life.
But the impact of early fish consumption on risk was significant, lead author Bernt Alm, MD, PhD, of Sweden's Queen Silvia Children's Hospital, tells WebMD.
"We believe this is a real risk reduction," he says. "We can't be certain of this, but the finding certainly warrants further study."
See Picture of Common Childhood Skin Conditions
Babies in a newly published study whose diets included fish before the age of 9 months were 24% less likely to develop eczema by their first birthdays than babies who did not eat fish.
The infants were enrolled in an ongoing health study in Sweden that is following almost 17,000 children from birth though childhood.
Having a mother or sibling with eczema was the strongest risk factor for developing the allergic skin condition during the first year of life.
But the impact of early fish consumption on risk was significant, lead author Bernt Alm, MD, PhD, of Sweden's Queen Silvia Children's Hospital, tells WebMD.
"We believe this is a real risk reduction," he says. "We can't be certain of this, but the finding certainly warrants further study."
See Picture of Common Childhood Skin Conditions