Margarine consumption by mothers increases the risk of asthma by 96% in their children

This study was published in Acta Paediatrica 2012 Aug;101(8):e337-43

 

Study title and authors:

Maternal dietary fat and fatty acid intake during lactation and the risk of asthma in the offspring.

Lumia M, Luukkainen P, Kaila M, Tapanainen H, Takkinen HM, Prasad M, Niinistö S, Nwaru BI, Kenward MG, Ilonen J, Simell O, Knip M, Veijola R, Virtanen SM.

Nutrition Unit, Department of Lifestyle and Participation, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland. mirka.lumia@thl.fi

 

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22578184

This study set out to explore the association between maternal dietary fat intake during lactation, and the risk of asthma in the offspring by the age of five years. The subjects in the study comprised of 1,798 mother-child pairs.

The study found that, by the age of five, children whose mothers consumed margarine during lactation had a 96% increased risk of asthma compared to children whose mothers did not consume margarine.