Maternal intake of vitamin D during pregnancy and risk of recurrent wheeze in children at 3 y of age

• Published in: The American journal of clinical nutrition 2007-03, Vol.85 (3), p.788-795
• Main Authors: Camargo, Carlos A. Jr, Rifas-Shiman, Sheryl L, Litonjua, Augusto A, Rich-Edwards, Janet W, Weiss, Scott T, Gold, Diane R, Kleinman, Ken, Gillman, Matthew W
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: asthma; Biological and medical sciences; Body Mass Index; Child, Preschool; children; cohort studies; Diet; disease incidence; epidemiological studies; Feeding. Feeding behavior; Female; food frequency questionnaires; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; human diseases; Humans; Maternal Age; maternal nutrition; maternal-fetal transfer; nutrient intake; Odds Ratio; pathogenesis; Pregnancy; pregnant women; Respiratory Sounds - physiopathology; risk assessment; Risk Factors; Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems; vitamin D; Vitamin D - metabolism; vitamin deficiencies
• ISSN: 0002-9165; 1938-3207
• DOI: 10.1093/ajcn/85.3.788

BACKGROUND:Vitamin D deficiency and asthma are common at higher latitudes. Although vitamin D has important immunologic effects, its relation with asthma is unknown. OBJECTIVE:We hypothesized that a higher maternal intake of vitamin D during pregnancy is associated with a lower risk of recurrent wheeze in children at 3 y of age. DESIGN:The participants were 1194 mother-child pairs in Project Viva--a prospective prebirth cohort study in Massachusetts. We assessed the maternal intake of vitamin D during pregnancy from a validated food-frequency questionnaire. The primary outcome was recurrent wheeze, ie, a positive asthma predictive index (>=2 wheezing attacks among children with a personal diagnosis of eczema or a parental history of asthma). RESULTS:The mean (±SD) total vitamin D intake during pregnancy was 548 ± 167 IU/d. By age 3 y, 186 children (16%) had recurrent wheeze. Compared with mothers in the lowest quartile of daily intake (median: 356 IU), those in the highest quartile (724 IU) had a lower risk of having a child with recurrent wheeze [odds ratio (OR): 0.39; 95% CI: 0.25, 0.62; P for trend < 0.001]. A 100-IU increase in vitamin D intake was associated with lower risk (OR: 0.81; 95% CI: 0.74, 0.89), regardless of whether vitamin D was from the diet (OR: 0.81; 95% CI: 0.69, 0.96) or supplements (OR: 0.82; 95% CI: 0.73, 0.92). Adjustment for 12 potential confounders, including maternal intake of other dietary factors, did not change the results. CONCLUSION:In the northeastern United States, a higher maternal intake of vitamin D during pregnancy may decrease the risk of recurrent wheeze in early childhood.