Intake of trans fatty acids and prevalence of childhood asthma and
allergies in Europe 
Stephan K Weiland, Erika von Mutius, Anika Hüsing, M Innes Asher, on behalf
of the ISAAC Steering Committee 
The Lancet, Volume 353, Number 9169  12 June 1999

It's not available at their web site unless you are a subscriber. So here's
a newsgroup article instead:

Newsgroup: alt.support.food-allergies
Subject: allergies/asthma/link to trans fats-research studies
From: Ray <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Sat, 26 Jun 1999 14:34:35 +0000

Daily Mail July 12 1999

The epidemic in asthma among children may be linked to eating fast
foods, researchers claim. Rates of asthma have doubled in 20 years,
at the same time as consumption of fats found in some cooking oils,
margarines, biscuits, cakes and chips has soared.

Studies of the European countries now appear to have established a
connection between the intake of trans fatty acids and the incidence
of allergic conditions such as asthma and eczema.
On in seven British children aged between two and 15 needs treatment
for asthma and wheezing attacks. That represents about 1.5 million.

The new research published in The Lancet medical journal, looked at
the prevalence of asthma, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis and eczema in
13 to 14 year olds in 55 study centres across Europe, including some
in Britain. They found that where fat intake was higher, asthma
symptoms rose.

Trans fatty acids occur naturally in certain foods such as butter,
milk, lamb and beef, but are also produced during the processing and
heating of vegetable oils. The process, called hydrogenation, is
used to transform oils from liquid to semi-solid.

The researchers, from universities in Germany and New Zealand, said
the link between the fats and asthma was strongest for foods
containing hydrogenated vegetable fat, such as margarines, biscuits,
cakes and chips.

They claim the effect of trans fatty acids on the immune system, in
particular on the way inflammation is controlled, could be the
mechanism responsible.

Professor Anthony Seaton, of Aberdeen University, who suggested that
diet might be responsible for rising levels of asthma in the early
1990s, said the research supported his theory.

“Asthma rates have doubled among children here in the last 20 years
and are increasing in all countries where societies are being
changed by getting richer The change leads to a move away from
natural, fresh foods to fast food. Research we carried out in Saudi
Arabia found that children whose diet had changed to foods such as
burgers and pizzas were at higher risk of asthma. This study
strongly supports the theory that higher intake of fatty acids
coupled with falling vegetable and fruit consumption could be
important in explaining the rise."

(Note from Ray: There may be a link here with other autoimmune
inflammatory diseases. Lack of essential fatty acids has been
implicated in some autoimmune inflammatory states, as in lupus.
Trans fatty acids lack these essential  fatty acids. Trans fatty
acids, when incorporated into cellular fats, also interfere with the
passing of nutrients and cellular wastes through the cellular
membranes. Ten per cent of fats in Western bodies are composed of
trans fats, when it should be zero for this particular type of
trans fat made by hydrogenation.)