Abstract 47 Poster Session III, Monday, 5/3 (poster 172)

The reasons behind the possible increase in the occurrence of atopic diseases are unclear, but the changes in the diet during the past two decades could be one of them. We evaluated the association between diet, serum fatty acids and the occurrence of atopic diseases in childhood.

Methods: We used a longitudinal database of 1768 subjects. From this database children with atopic diseases (atopic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis and/or asthma) from whom we had complete dietary data and serum fatty acids measurements were chosen to serve as index case. For those children we selected 231 sex and age matched controls in 1980 and 154 controls in 1986. We compared the dietary data and serum fatty acid composition between the pairs. Same variables were evaluated among those who developed an atopic disease during the 9 years follow-up compared to those who did not.

Results: The children with an atopic disease consumed significantly more margarine, mean 8.6 vs 7.3 (p=0.04), and less butter, mean 9.4 vs 11.6 g/1000 kcal, than the non-atopic children (p=0.002). Examination of the dietary data in 1980 for those who had developed an atopic disease during the follow-up versus those who had remained healthy showed that the atopic children had used less butter, mean 7.7 g/1000 kcal, than the non-atopic children, mean 10.1 g/1000 kcal (p=0.001).

Conclusion: The diet of the atopic children differed from that of the non-atopic children where the consumption of margarine and butter was concerned, and the same difference existed in the diet even before the expression of atopy.