Maternal diet during pregnancy is not linked to childhood wheezing or
atopic eczema
Abstract
Background: Several recent studies have investigated the
association between maternal diet during pregnancy and asthma in
children. However, whether a specific dietary pattern during pregnancy
protects children from asthma remains unclear. This study investigated
the association between a healthy diet, dietary inflammation potential
during pregnancy, and the risk for wheezing and atopic eczema in
children. Methods: This study included 1330 mother-child pairs
who attended the Kuopio Birth Cohort (KuBiCo) study and had dietary
information during the last trimester and information on children’s
health in the first year of life. The Alternative Healthy Eating Index
for Pregnancy (AHEI-P) and Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) indicate a
healthy diet and dietary inflammation potential during pregnancy. The
AHEI-P and DII were compared with reported wheezing and doctor-diagnosed
atopic eczema in children during the first year of life.
Results: Neither the AHEI-P nor the DII was associated with
wheezing or atopic eczema in children when analyzed by continuous
variables or tertiles. The odds ratio for AHEI-P and wheezing was 0.99
(0.98–1.01); for AHEI-P and atopic eczema was 1.01 (0.99–1.02); for
DII and wheezing was 1.02 (0.95–1.09), and for DII and atopic eczema
was 0.97 (0.91–1.04). Conclusion: In this cohort study, a
maternal healthy or anti-inflammatory diet during pregnancy was not
associated with wheezing or atopic eczema in the first year of life.
Interventions in the overall dietary pattern during pregnancy might not
effectively prevent atopic diseases in children.