Fish oil and vitamin D supplements in pregnancy lower the risk of croup in babies and young children
Babies and children under three years old are less likely to develop croup if their mothers took fish oil and vitamin D supplements during pregnancy, according to new results from a clinical trial. The findings are from a randomised controlled trial ? the ?gold standard? for medical research ? that will be presented at the European Respiratory Society International Congress in Barcelona, Spain [1]. It is the first large study of its kind to investigate the effects of vitamin D and fish oil on croup. Croup is a viral chest infection that affects young children. It causes a characteristic ?barking? cough, a hoarse voice and difficulty breathing. Croup is common and usually mild, but some children will need hospital treatment and breathing support. The study was presented by Dr Nicklas Brustad, a clinician and postdoctoral researcher working on the Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood (COPSAC) at Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark. He told the Congress: ?There is currently no vaccine against the pathogen that causes this disease. Therefore, other preventive strategies are needed, and measures initiated during pregnancy might be important since croup occurs in babies and young children. For such purpose, there is evidence that both vitamin D and fish oil could have an influence on the immune system.? The study included 736 pregnant women being cared for by COPSAC from 2010. The women were divided up into four groups. One group were...
