Obesity and Asthma: Nutrigenetic Response to Omega-3 Fatty Acids (NOOA)

• Asthma Control Questionnaire (Juniper) [ Time Frame: baseline, 12 weeks, 24 weeks ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  

• Asthma symptom exacerbation, plasma membrane PUFA composition, spirometry, peak flow, forced oscillation [ Time Frame: baseline, 12 weeks, 24 weeks ] [ Designated as safety issue: Yes ]
  

Obesity increases the risk for asthma diagnosis in children and adults. With obesity on the rise, a better understanding of this association may become critically important to public health. We will determine the impact of fish oil-derived Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) on asthma control among obese asthmatics. These omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to: reduce inflammation important to asthma and improve asthma outcomes in an inconsistent manner across previous smaller studies - results that are consistent with a pharmacogenetic influence. There exists evidence that omega-3 fatty acid response displays a pharmacogenetic response related to ALOX5 genotype. Preliminary data suggests that obese individuals are at greater risk for possessing this same ALOX5 variant and thus obese asthmatics may be more responsive to fish oil. We will determine (in a sub-aim) if there exists an ALOX5 genotype-related response effect with fish oil. This will be the largest clinical trial of omega-3 fatty acid for the treatment of asthma, and the first applying pharmacogenetic/nutrigenetic analysis.