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House dust mite avoidance does not prevent asthma in high-risk children
The avoidance of dust mite allergens does not prevent asthma among children at high risk of developing the respiratory condition, researchers have found.
Results of the study, published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, also showed that modifying the diets of such children to increase their levels of omega-3 fatty acids, which are known to have beneficial health effects, did not reduce their risk of developing allergic disease.
For their study, Dr Guy Marks, from the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research in New South Wales, Australia, and colleagues recruited the parents of 500 newborn infants with a family history of asthma.
Each family was assigned to one of three groups. Parents in the first group were required to use physical and chemical methods to reduce levels of house dust mite allergens in their homes. Parents in the second group were asked to add oil and supplements high in levels of omega-3 fatty acids to their children's formula and solid foods from the age of 6 months. Those in the third group were not required to instigate any of the measures.
Five years later, the team found that there was no difference in prevalence of asthma or wheeze among children living in homes with reduced levels of dust mite allergens compared with other children. Indeed, the prevalence of eczema among children in this group seemed to be higher than among children in the other groups.
Furthermore, there was no significant difference in the prevalence of asthma and allergic diseases among children in the omega-3 fatty acid group compared with those in the other two groups.
Commenting on the findings, Dr Marks said: "We have shown it's possible to implement feasible strategies to reduce house dust mite allergen concentrations in a child's bed and create a sustained alteration in the ratio of fatty acids during the first 5 years of life.
"However as special treatment of children's beds and giving fish oil supplements to very young children with a family history of allergic disease seemed to have little benefit for the prevention of asthma and atopy [tendency to develop allergic diseases], at least in the short term, we now need to consider other possibilities."
He added: "In the meantime, the study results help remove some of the blame parents often take on for not doing enough to prevent their child getting asthma."