According to Swedish scientists, adding fish to a child’s diet before nine months of age may decrease the risk of developing eczema.

Eczema is a painful skin condition that has considerably risen in European countries during the past few years. The scientists believe that diet also play a key role in this connection.

In their study, scientists from Sweden tracked the health of children in 5,000 families and found that early use of fish decreased the risk of developing the condition by a quarter.

The study has been published in Archives of Disease in Childhood.

The children in the said study were a part of an ongoing health study that examined almost 17,000 babies born in western Sweden during 2003. Some of the families involved in the study were given a questionnaire about home environment and diet when the child was between six to twelve months age.

The researchers also recorded any evidence of eczema and analyzed the results .The found at six months of age, almost 13% families said their child developed the condition and it rose to 20% at the time of their first birthday. However, they found that adding fish to infants’ diet before nine month of age cut eczema risk by 25%.

The researchers concluded: “Fish is rich in omega-3 fatty acids and could somewhat explain the effects noted in this cohort.”