Consumption of fish, butter and margarine during pregnancy and development of allergic sensitizations in the offspring: role of maternal atopy

Abstract

It has been suggested that changes in dietary habits, particularly increased consumption of omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and decreased consumption of omega-3 PUFAs may explain the increase in atopic disease seen in recent years. Furthermore, it seems possible that it is mainly prenatal or very early life environmental factors that influence the development of allergic diseases. It has also been suggested that intrauterine risk factors may act differently if mother themselves suffer from allergic disease. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the consumption of fish, butter and margarine during pregnancy might influence the development of allergic sensitizations in the offspring. The study population was divided into the offspring of allergic and non-allergic mothers. This was a retrospective cohort study enrolling 295 offspring of allergic mothers and 693 of non-allergic mothers. Information regarding maternal intake of fish, butter and margarine during pregnancy as well as other prenatal and perinatal confounding factors were retrospectively assessed by parental report via a standardized questionnaire. Atopy was determined by skin-prick tests (SPT) to eight prevalent inhalant allergens and two foods. In the allergic mothers' group there is no clear correlation between maternal intakes of fish, butter and margarine and sensitizations to food or inhalants. In the non-allergic mothers' group there was no correlation between butter and margarine intake and food or inhalant sensitizations. On the contrary, a protective effect of fish intake on SPT positivity was observed. In particular, frequent maternal intake ('2-3 times/wk or more') of fish reduced the risk of food sensitizations by over a third (aOR 0.23; 95% CI: 0.08-0.69). A similar trend, even if not significant, was found for inhalants. Finally, even in the whole study population, i.e. allergic group plus non-allergic group, there was a similar trend between increased consumption of fish and decreased prevalence of SPT positivity for foods. This study shows that frequent intake of fish during pregnancy may contrast the development of SPT sensitizations for foods in the offspring of mothers without atopic disease. Therefore, larger prospective studies are needed, enrolling mothers with and without allergic disease, to confirm these results.

Maternal fish consumption during pregnancy and risks of wheezing and eczema in childhood: The Generation R Study

“…These observations are in contrast to results from previous studies, which mainly, but not consistent, suggest that maternal fish intake during pregnancy protects against the development of childhood asthma and atopy. [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] Observational studies in large cohorts observed lower incidence of eczema in offspring of mothers with the highest fish consumption during pregnancy, 19,21 but not lower incidences of wheezing or asthma. In the Netherlands, fish consumption is relatively low, which can explain the differences in the observations.…”

“…7 Many observational and interventional studies, explored the associations of maternal fish consumption or fish oil supplementation during pregnancy with the risks of childhood asthma and atopy. [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] Although these studies showed a protective effect on at least one outcome, they were not all able to adjust for potential confounders. Also, previous intervention studies differed in selection of participants, types of intervention and definition of outcome measures.…”

Is there a role for fatty acids in early life programming of the immune system?

“…Umbilical cord blood lipids from neonates who go on to develop atopy in early childhood appear to contain lower than normal amounts of EPA and DHA (see Sala-Vila et al (37) ). All five studies investigating the effect of maternal fish intake during pregnancy on atopic or allergic outcomes in infants/ children of those pregnancies concluded protective associations (46)(47)(48)(49)(50) . The protective effect varied between 25 and 95%, which might be attributed to differences in study design, exposure and outcome measure classification and assessment.…”

Does maternal diet during pregnancy and lactation affect outcomes in offspring? A systematic review of food-based approaches

“…Calvani et al [49] investigated associations between the type of fat in the maternal diet during pregnancy and allergic sensitization in five year old children born to allergic and non-allergic mothers. They reported less sensitization to common food allergens at 5 years of age with more frequent intake of fish during pregnancy in non-atopic mothers but not in the offspring of atopic mothers.…”