(10-09-07) Maternal vitamin D intake during pregnancy and early childhood wheezing.

Devereux G, Litonjua AA, Turner SW, Craig LC, McNeill G, Martindale S, Helms PJ, Seaton A, Weiss ST.

Department of Environmental, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom.

BACKGROUND: Maternal intake of vitamin D in pregnancy is a potentially modifiable but understudied risk factor for the development of asthma in children. OBJECTIVE: We investigated whether maternal vitamin D intake in pregnancy is associated with decreased risks of wheezing symptoms in young children. DESIGN: Subjects were from a birth cohort recruited in utero with the primary objective of identifying associations between maternal diet during pregnancy and asthma and allergies in children. A random sample of 2000 healthy pregnant women was recruited while attending antenatal clinics at the Aberdeen Maternity Hospital, Scotland, at approximately 12 wk gestation. Maternal vitamin D intake was ascertained from a food-frequency questionnaire completed at 32 wk of gestation. The main outcome measures were wheezing symptoms, spirometry, bronchodilator response, atopic sensitization, and exhaled nitric oxide at 5 y. RESULTS: Respiratory details through 5 y and maternal food-frequency-questionnaire data were available for 1212 children. In models adjusted for potential confounders, including the children's vitamin D intake, a comparison of the highest and lowest quintiles of maternal total vitamin D intake conferred lower risks for ever wheeze [odds ratio (OR): 0.48; 95% CI: 0.25, 0.91], wheeze in the previous year (OR: 0.35; 95% CI: 0.15, 0.83), and persistent wheeze (OR: 0.33; 95% CI: 0.11, 0.98) in 5-y-old children. In addition, lower maternal total vitamin D intakes in pregnancy were also associated with decreased bronchodilator response (P = 0.04). No associations were observed between maternal vitamin D intakes and spirometry or exhaled nitric oxide concentrations. CONCLUSION: Increasing maternal vitamin D intakes during pregnancy may decrease the risk of wheeze symptoms in early childhood.

Source: Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Mar;85(3):853-9.

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