Mediterranean diet during pregnancy and childhood respiratory and atopic outcomes: birth cohort study
Abstract
Evidence for associations between Mediterranean diet during pregnancy and childhood asthma, allergy and related outcomes is conflicting. Few cohorts have followed children to school age, and none have considered lung function. In the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, we analysed associations between maternal Mediterranean diet score during pregnancy (estimated by a food frequency questionnaire, using an a priori defined score adapted to pregnant women; score ranging from 0 (low adherence) to 7 (high adherence)) and current doctor-diagnosed asthma, wheeze, eczema, hay fever, atopy and lung function in 8907 children at 7–9 years. Interaction between maternal Mediterranean diet and maternal smoking in pregnancy was investigated. The maternal Mediterranean diet score was not associated with asthma or other allergic outcomes. Weak positive associations were found between maternal Mediterranean diet score and childhood maximal mid-expiratory flow (forced expiratory flow at 25–75% of forced vital capacity (FEF25–75%)) after controlling for confounders. Higher Mediterranean diet scores were associated with increased FEF25–75% z-scores adjusted for age, height and sex (β 0.06, 95% CI 0.01–0.12; p=0.03, comparing a score of 4–7 versus a score of 0–3). Stratifying associations by maternal smoking during pregnancy showed that associations with FEF25–75% were only seen in children of never-/passive-smoking mothers, but no evidence for a statistically significant…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a cohort study, done in people. Its evidence level is 3 of 5 (Moderate · trial / cohort / secondary analysis). Trials without a large randomized design, cohorts and secondary analyses give moderate evidence. Reported size: 8,907 participants or records.
Read the paper
Related studies
- Improving the translation of search strategies using the Polyglot Search Translator: a randomized controlled trial
- Nutritional, Physical, Cognitive, and Combination Interventions and Frailty Reversal Among Older Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial
- Clinical characteristics and risk factors associated with COVID-19 severity in patients with haematological malignancies in Italy: a retrospective, multicentre, cohort study
- A randomized, controlled trial of oral propranolol in infantile hemangioma
- Clinical phenotypes of delirium during critical illness and severity of subsequent long-term cognitive impairment: a prospective cohort study
- Increased physical activity improves sleep and mood outcomes in inactive people with insomnia: a randomized controlled trial
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.