None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Globally, asthma has become one of the most frequent chronic diseases in children during the past two to three decades. Furthermore, it is a debilitating disease and is one of the most common reasons for hospitalization and days absent from school. The change in dietary habits has been implicated in causing childhood asthma. Observational studies revealed that adherence to a Mediterranean type diet by children was inversely associated with asthma symptoms. More specifically, some studies performed to date have reported that fish in the child’s diet was associated with reduced risk of wheeze and asthma, whereas others not. However, clinical trials investigating the effect of fatty fish consumption in the context of the Mediterranean diet in asthmatic children are limited. Therefore, there is a need for further investigation in order to clarify whether a Mediterranean diet enriched with fatty fish is a useful therapy for childhood asthma
Interventions
The intervention group will be instructed to consume 2 fatty fish meals (at least 150g cooked fish)/week as part of the Mediterranean diet for a period of 6 months. Emphasis to consume fatty fish only ( such as sardines, salmon, trout, mackerel etc) and no lean fish or seafood. Prior to commencement participants will be provided with an information sheet and consent form. At baseline and at 6 months during usual medical consultations, children will be assessed using anthropometry, spirometry, ex
The intervention group will be instructed to consume 2 fatty fish meals (at least 150g cooked fish)/week as part of the Mediterranean diet for a period of 6 months. Emphasis to consume fatty fish only ( such as sardines, salmon, trout, mackerel etc) and no lean fish or seafood. Prior to commencement participants will be provided with an information sheet and consent form. At baseline and at 6 months during usual medical consultations, children will be assessed using anthropometry, spirometry, exhaled Nitric Oxide Analysis. And children together with parents will complete socio-demographics, Asthma Control Questionnaire, Paediatric Asthma Quality of life Questionnaire and food frequency questionnaires (requiring approximately 30 mins) as well as biochemical tests. During enrolment, a telephone-interview (lasting approximately 60 minutes) will be conducted by the dietitian to collect medical, dietary and lifestyle information. Dietary advice based on the Greek Mediterranean dietary guidelines ( Greek Ministry of Health & Welfare, 1999) including instructions on the dietary intervention will be explained to parents. Participants will be monitored fortnightly via telephone, text, e-mails and face-to-face consultations from the dietitian to address any problems relating to dietary adherence
Sponsors
La Trobe University
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Open (masking not used) (Subject)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
5 Years to 12 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Asthma was defined as physician-diagnosed 'mild asthma.'
Exclusion criteria
Children suffering from cystic fibrosis, GERD, pneumonia, congenital respiratory disease, food allergies, requiring regular treatment with multiple glucocorticoids drugs or cortisone, taking high dose multi-vitamins or fish oil capsules, unwilling to modify diet or being vegetarian.
Outcome results
None listed