Fish 'protects kids from eczema'
Infants whose parents include fish in their diets from nine months less likely to develop eczema, researchers claim
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Thursday, 25, Sep 2008 09:08
Infants with a diet that includes fish are significantly less likely to develop eczema, a survey showed on Thursday.
Scientists in Sweden said children whose parents included fish in their diets before the age of nine months benefited from a 25 per cent cut in the risk of contracting the condition.
Research published today in Archives of Disease in Childhood saw 5,000 families complete questionnaires about the diet and allergy history of their children at six and 12 months.
At six months, 13 per cent of families said that their youngest child had already developed eczema.
By the time the children had reached 12 months of age, one in five had the condition. The average age at which first symptoms appeared was four months.
A sibling or mother who had the condition resulted in infants being twice as likely to be affected by eczema by 12 months, while breastfeeding, dairy products or having a furry pet in the house were shown to have no impact.
As well as the beneficial effect of fish, researchers said having a pet bird was associated with a significant reduction in the risk of eczema.
In background information the study authors noted the sharp rise in the prevalence of atopic eczema and other allergic disease, a fact attributed to a rise in food additives.