Sugar intake during pregnancy linked to allergy and allergic asthma in children

6 August 2017 by Article taken from: Dental Nursing Journal pg. 376, August 2017, volume 13, number 8

High maternal sugar intake during pregnancy may increase the risk of allergy and allergic asthma in the offspring, according to an early study led by Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) involving almost 9,000 mother-child pairs. While some research has reported an association between a high consumption of sugar- containing beverages and asthma in children, the relation between maternal sugar intake during pregnancy and allergy and asthma in the offspring has been little studied. The team, which included researchers from University of Bristol, used data from a world leading birth cohort study, the Avon longitudinal study of parents and children (ALSPAC), also known as ‘children of the 90’s’. The cohort recruited mothers who were pregnant in the early 1990s and has been following up their offspring ever since. The current study, which is published in the European Respiratory Journal, analysed associations between maternal intakes of free sugars in pregnancy and allergy (defined by positive skin tests to common allergens, namely dust mite, cat and grass) and asthma at seven years of age.

While there was only weak evidence for a link between free sugar intake in pregnancy and asthma overall, there were strong positive associations with allergy and allergic asthma (where the child was diagnosed with asthma and had positive skin tests to allergens). When comparing the 20% of mothers with the highest sugar intake versus the 20% of mothers with the lowest sugar intake, there was an increased risk of 38% for allergy in the offspring (73% for allergy to two or more allergens) and 101 per cent for allergic asthma. The team found no association with eczema or hay fever. The team speculate that the associations may be explained by a high maternal intake of fructose causing a persistent postnatal allergic immune response leading to allergic inflammation in the developing lung.

Importantly, the offspring’s free sugar intake in early childhood was found to have no association with the outcomes seen in the analysis. As the study is observational, it does not prove a causal link between maternal sugar intake and allergies or asthma. A randomised controlled trial would be needed to definitively test causality.