Milk serum fatty acid composition is associated with preschool asthma but does not correspond with fatty acid pattern in serum in children from the PASTURE/EFRAIM-Study

Specific milk fatty acids (FA) are suggested to act preventive against allergy and asthma development and might thereby contribute to the farm effect. Within a case-control-study on preschool asthma nested into the multi-center “Protection against Allergies Study in Rural Environments/Mechanisms of Early Protective Exposures on Allergy Development (PASTURE/EFRAIM)” at the age of 4.5 we aimed to investigate possible associations between milk and serum FA pattern and preschool asthma. Milk and serum were sampled at 4.5 years from cases with preschool asthma (n=64) and healthy controls (n=64) and subsequently quantified for 46 milk FA by using gas-chromatography. Differences between cases and controls in milk/serum FA pattern were determined by using Wilcoxon signed rank test. Possible associations between milk/serum FA and preschool asthma were calculated by applying logistic regression. Centre-adjusted logistic regression models revealed ω-3 PUFA and milk specific FA indicating green feeding or pasturing to be inversely associated with preschool asthma. These associations were shown to be robust against adjustment for farmer status and farm milk consumption. Serum FA pattern did not correspond with those found in milk neither in cases nor in controls. In summary, specific milk fatty acids might have an impact on the development of asthma but independent from the farm milk effect. Whereas serum FA composition might not correspond to milk FA consumption it may possibly reflect pathogenic processes in preschool asthma cases.