Abstract
Background: Fetal exposure to a suboptimal maternal diet might affect respiratory health later in life. We tested the hypothesis that a pro-inflammatory or low-quality maternal diet in pregnancy was associated with child’s respiratory health.
Methods: We performed an individual participant meta-analysis among 18,326 children and their mothers, participating in seven European birth cohorts. Maternal pro-inflammatory diet during pregnancy was estimated by the energy-adjusted Dietary Inflammatory Index score (E-DIITM), and low quality diet by the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) score. Child’s preschool wheezing and school-age asthma and lung function were measured by questionnaires and spirometry. We used multilevel regression models with a random intercept at cohort level to study the associations.
Results: After adjustment for lifestyle and sociodemographic factors, we observed no consistent associations of a high E-DII score (>90th percentile) with respiratory outcomes, but a low DASH score (<10th percentile) was associated with a higher risk of preschool wheezing, school-age asthma, and an FEV1/FVC below the lower limit of normal (OR (95% CI): 1.20 (1.06, 1.36), 1.19 (1.01, 1.40), 1.40 (1.06, 1.85), respectively, compared to ≥10th percentile). We estimated that 1.7% of preschool wheezing, 1.6% of school-age asthma and 3.3% of airway obstruction in children was attributable to a low DASH score in pregnancy.
Conclusion: A low quality maternal diet in pregnancy might have a modest adverse effect on respiratory health in childhood.
Footnotes
Cite this article as: European Respiratory Journal 2020; 56: Suppl. 64, 4984.
This abstract was presented at the 2020 ERS International Congress, in session “Respiratory viruses in the "pre COVID-19" era”.
This is an ERS International Congress abstract. No full-text version is available. Further material to accompany this abstract may be available at www.ers-education.org (ERS member access only).
- Copyright ©the authors 2020