There is no evidence that PUFA supplementation in infancy has an effect on infant or childhood allergy , asthma , dermatitis/eczema or food allergy .
However , the quality of evidence was very low .
There was insufficient evidence to determine an effect on allergic rhinitis
BACKGROUND Early dietary intakes may influence the development of allergic disease .
It is important to determine if dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids ( PUFAs ) given as supplements or added to infant formula prevent the development of allergy .
OBJECTIVES To determine the effect of higher PUFA intake during infancy to prevent allergic disease .
Impact of early dietary gamma-linolenic acid supplementation on atopic eczema in infancy.
Polyunsaturated fatty acids ( PUFAs ) are components of cell membranes and may play an immunomodulating role in the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis ( AD ) . The goal was to determine the impact of PUFAs on AD by dietary supplementation of infants . Based on the parents ' decision on their babies ' primary feeding , mothers and newborns were r and omized to the supplementation with gamma-linolenic acid ( GLA ) or placebo for up to 6 months . Breastfed infants received GLA by supplementing their mothers . Formula diet was commercial whey hydrolysate unsupplemented with PUFAs .  Of 131 eligible infants , 24 developed AD within the first year of life . Of these , nine belonged to the exclusively breastfed group ( n = 58 ) , 14 to the combined-fed group ( n = 53 ) , and one to the never breastfed group ( n = 20 ) . We could not find an influence of GLA on the development of AD . In subjects with AD , at 1 yr of age the serum-immunoglobulin E ( IgE ) was the lowest in the GLA-supplemented group A-subjects . In the GLA-supplemented group , GLA-levels in breast milk were similar in atopic and non-atopic infants . In the non-supplemented group the GLA-content of breast milk was 0.07 % of total fatty acids in atopic infants vs. 0.17 % in non-atopic infants ( p < 0.01 ) . Dietary GLA-supplementation could not prevent AD . Interestingly , the number of infants developing AD was the lowest in never breastfed children . In infants suffering from AD , GLA-supplementation seemed to reduce total IgE in the first year of life
There is no evidence that PUFA supplementation in infancy has an effect on infant or childhood allergy , asthma , dermatitis/eczema or food allergy .
However , the quality of evidence was very low .
There was insufficient evidence to determine an effect on allergic rhinitis
BACKGROUND Early dietary intakes may influence the development of allergic disease .
It is important to determine if dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids ( PUFAs ) given as supplements or added to infant formula prevent the development of allergy .
OBJECTIVES To determine the effect of higher PUFA intake during infancy to prevent allergic disease .