Not all asthma looks the same, and diet may play a role in how severe it becomes.
Researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia found that certain saturated fats, common in processed foods and animal fat, can worsen a hard-to-treat type of asthma called neutrophilic asthma. Unlike the more familiar allergic asthma, this form is often more severe and more likely to send patients to the hospital.
“Prior to this study, many suspected that childhood obesity was causing this form of asthma. However, we were observing neutrophilic asthma in children who weren’t obese,” said senior author Dr. David Hill. “What we found in both preclinical work and studies in children was that diets containing certain saturated long chain fatty acids can cause neutrophilic asthma independent from obesity.”
The study, published in Science Translational Medicine, showed that stearic acid (a fat found in many processed foods) made airway inflammation worse, while oleic acid (found in foods like olive oil) appeared to calm inflammation.
“Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases in children, and different treatments may be needed depending on the subtype of asthma,” said Dr. Lisa Young, Chief of Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine at CHOP. “This study provides evidence about how specific dietary components are linked to a particularly difficult-to-treat form of asthma… and suggest that targeted dietary modifications may help prevent this asthma type.”
The findings add to growing evidence that diet quality influences not just weight, but also immune health. Researchers say clinical trials are still needed, but shifting toward healthier fats may one day be part of managing this severe asthma subtype.
This research was funded by the National Institutes of Health, the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute and the University of Pennsylvania.