Maternal Dietary Vitamin D Intake during Pregnancy Is Associated with Allergic Disease Symptoms in Children at 3 Years Old: The Japan Environment and Children’s Study

• Published in: International archives of allergy and immunology Vol. 184; no. 11; pp. 1106 - 1115
• Main Authors: Shimizu, Muneyuki, Kato, Taisuke, Adachi, Yuichi, Wada, Takuya, Murakami, Shokei, Ito, Yasunori, Itazawa, Toshiko, Adachi, Yoko S., Tsuchida, Akiko, Matsumura, Kenta, Hamazaki, Kei, Inadera, Hidekuni
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel, Switzerland 2023
• Subjects: Asthma - epidemiology; Child, Preschool; Clinical Allergy – Research Article; Cohort Studies; Dermatitis, Atopic - epidemiology; Female; Humans; Japan - epidemiology; Pregnancy; Rhinitis; Rhinitis, Allergic - epidemiology; Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal; Vitamin D; Japan; Food frequency questionnaire; Vitamin D; Allergic disease; Cohort studies; Maternal nutrition
• ISSN: 1018-2438; 1423-0097
• DOI: 10.1159/000531970

Abstract Introduction: Vitamin D plays an important role in the immune system, and postnatal vitamin D insufficiency is one of the risk factors for the development of allergic disease. However, the effects of women’s vitamin D intake during pregnancy on the prevalence of allergic disease in their children remain controversial. Methods: From the Japan Environment and Children’s Study, an ongoing nationwide birth cohort study, we obtained information on maternal dietary vitamin D intake determined using a food frequency questionnaire and parent-reported allergic disease symptoms based on the ISAAC questionnaire in children at 3 years of age. Results: From the full dataset of 103,060 pregnancies, we analyzed complete data for 73,309 mother-child pairs. The prevalence of current wheeze, current rhinitis, current rhino-conjunctivitis, current eczema, ever asthma, ever pollinosis, and ever atopic dermatitis in the children was 17.2%, 29.7%, 3.8%, 15.2%, 9.6%, 3.7%, and 11.0%, respectively. The ORs for current rhinitis were significantly lower in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th quintiles than in the 1st quintile after adjustment for various covariates and showed a linear association. The ORs for ever pollinosis were significantly lower in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th quintiles than in the 1st quintile, showing a U-shaped curve. There was no clear association between mothers’ dietary vitamin D intake and symptoms of asthma or atopic dermatitis in their 3-year-old children. Conclusion: Maternal dietary vitamin D intake during pregnancy is associated with the ORs for nasal allergies in children at the age of 3 years. Further studies are warranted to evaluate the appropriate intake dose of vitamin D for pregnant women to prevent the development of nasal allergies in their children.