Seasonal allergic rhinoconjunctivitis and fatty acid intake: A cross-sectional study in Japan

PURPOSE: To investigate the associations of fatty acid intake with seasonal allergic rhinoconjunctivitis. METHODS: The study subjects consisted of 1012 women aged 22 to 57 years (me an age +/- SD: 36.5 +/- 7.7 years), who had graduated from the Aichi Prefec tural Junior College of Nursing, Nagoya, Japan. They completed a self admin istered questionnaire on symptoms of the disease in August 1998. Symptoms o f seasonal allergic rhinoconjunctivitis in spring were determined by respon se to the questionnaire, and fatty acid intake was estimated using a food f requency questionnaire. Odds ratios (ORs) were computed using unconditional logistic models to assess the strength of associations between the symptom s and fatty acid intake. RESULTS: An increasing trend in the ORs was observed with increasing dietar y intake of n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids. After adjustment for potential confounders, the ORs for the second, third, and highest quartiles of intak e relative to the lowest were 1.28 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.78-2.10 ], 1.55 (0.96-2.50), and 1.74 (1.09-2.77), respectively (trend p = 0.015). Consumption of saturated, monounsaturated, and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty ac ids was not significantly related to the symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Dietary intake of n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids was positive ly associated with seasonal allergic rhinoconjunctivitis in spring. (C) 200 0 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.