PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Sara M. Mensink-Bout
AU  - Evelien R. van Meel
AU  - Johan C. de Jongste
AU  - Isabella Annesi-Maesano
AU  - Adrien M. Aubert
AU  - Jonathan Y. Bernard
AU  - Ling-Wei Chen
AU  - Cyrus Cooper
AU  - Sarah R. Crozier
AU  - Wojciech Hanke
AU  - Nicholas C. Harvey
AU  - James R. Hébert
AU  - Barbara Heude
AU  - Joanna Jerzynska
AU  - Cecily C. Kelleher
AU  - John Mehegan
AU  - Fionnuala M. McAuliffe
AU  - Catherine M. Phillips
AU  - Kinga Polanska
AU  - Caroline L. Relton
AU  - Nitin Shivappa
AU  - Matthew Suderman
AU  - Vincent W.V. Jaddoe
AU  - Liesbeth Duijts
TI  - Maternal diet in pregnancy and child's respiratory outcomes: an individual participant data meta-analysis of 18 000 children
AID  - 10.1183/13993003.01315-2021
DP  - 2022 Apr 01
TA  - European Respiratory Journal
PG  - 2101315
VI  - 59
IP  - 4
4099  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/59/4/2101315.short
4100  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/59/4/2101315.full
SO  - Eur Respir J2022 Apr 01; 59
AB  - Rationale Severe fetal malnutrition has been related to an increased risk of respiratory diseases later in life, but evidence for the association of a suboptimal diet during pregnancy with respiratory outcomes in childhood is conflicting. We aimed to examine whether a pro-inflammatory or low-quality maternal diet during pregnancy was associated with child's respiratory health.Methods We performed an individual participant meta-analysis among 18 326 mother–child pairs from seven European birth cohorts. Maternal pro-inflammatory and low-quality diets were estimated by energy-adjusted Dietary Inflammatory Index (E-DII) and Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) scores. Preschool wheezing and school-age asthma were measured using questionnaires and lung function by spirometry.Results After adjustment for lifestyle and sociodemographic factors, we observed that a higher maternal E-DII score (a more pro-inflammatory diet) during pregnancy was associated only with a lower forced vital capacity (FVC) in children (z-score difference −0.05, 95% CI −0.08– −0.02, per interquartile range increase). No linear associations of the maternal E-DII or DASH score with child's wheezing or asthma were observed. In an exploratory examination of the extremes, a very low DASH score (<10th percentile) (a very low dietary quality) was associated with an increased risk of preschool wheezing and a low forced expiratory volume in 1 s/FVC (z-score <−1.64) (OR 1.20, 95% CI 1.06–1.36 and z-score difference 1.40, 95% CI 1.06–1.85, compared to ≥10th percentile), with corresponding population attributable risk fractions of 1.7% and 3.3%, respectively.Conclusion The main results from this individual participant data meta-analysis do not support the hypothesis that maternal pro-inflammatory or low-quality diet in pregnancy are related to respiratory diseases in childhood.A suboptimal maternal diet in pregnancy, as defined by a higher inflammatory potential or low quality of the diet, does not play an important role in the development of respiratory diseases in childhood https://bit.ly/38dj3jU