Background – Increases in the prevalence of asthma may be explained by changes in the dietary intake of long chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCn-3 PUFA’s), which are shown to have anti-inflammatory properties. Objective – To evaluate the dietary intake of LCn-3 PUFA’s in adult women with and without asthma and to examine the effect of inhaled corticosteroid use (ICS) on dietary intake.
Design – We recruited asthmatic women (n=34) and non-asthmatic controls (n=26). Participants completed a food frequency questionnaire and dietary analysis was determined using Foodworks software, Xyris, QLD.
Outcomes – There were no significant differences in age and BMI between the asthmatic and non-asthmatic control groups. Asthmatic women had lower lung function compared to controls (Mean ± SEM) (FEV1%; 96 ± 2% vs. 100 ± 1%, P=0.51). The median (Q1-Q3) inhaled corticosteroid dose for asthmatic women was 625 (287.5-1000) μg/day. A significant difference in the dietary intake of LCn-3 PUFA’s between asthmatic and non-asthmatic controls was observed (Mean (g/day) ± SEM) (Asthma: 0.16 ± 0.42, Control: 0.05 ± 0.005, P=0.02). The control group had a lower LCn-3 PUFA intake compared to the Australian average (0.159 g/day) (1). Further subgroup analysis showed that there was no significant difference in dietary intake of asthmatic women using ICS compared to asthmatic women who were steroid naïve.
Conclusions – An unexpected elevation in the LCn-3 PUFA intake was seen in these asthmatic women. This may be likely to represent an increased awareness of the health benefits associated with LCn-3 PUFA consumption in asthma, leading to an increased dietary intake. These results also indicate that the non-asthmatic control group are failing to meet Australian intake recommendations for LCn-3 PUFA’s.
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