Peanut and tree nut consumption during pregnancy and allergic disease in children—should mothers decrease their intake? Longitudinal evidence from the Danish National Birth Cohort

Peanut, Milk, and Wheat Intake During Pregnancy Is Associated With Reduced Allergy and Asthma In Children

“…15,17,18,44 The topic has been examined in general birth cohort studies, but with limitations; a UK-based general birth cohort study relied on distant recall of pregnancy diet after study enrollment, 39 and a Danish general birth cohort study did not assess maternal diet before the 25 th week of pregnancy. 40 In that study, Maslova et al found that midpregnancy nut intake was associated with decreased odds of asthma and allergic rhinitis, although they did not examine other foods or outcomes other than asthma and allergic rhinitis. 40 We found no other studies that examined maternal diet before 25 weeks, with most assessing diet for the last month or last trimester of pregnancy only, [10][11][12][13][14][15][16]18 and most relying on distant recall of diet after the child's birth and after study enrollment.…”

“…40 In that study, Maslova et al found that midpregnancy nut intake was associated with decreased odds of asthma and allergic rhinitis, although they did not examine other foods or outcomes other than asthma and allergic rhinitis. 40 We found no other studies that examined maternal diet before 25 weeks, with most assessing diet for the last month or last trimester of pregnancy only, [10][11][12][13][14][15][16]18 and most relying on distant recall of diet after the child's birth and after study enrollment. 13,16,39 Thus, a strength of our study is the prospective collection of dietary information at two time points during pregnancy.…”

Advances in allergic skin disease, anaphylaxis, and hypersensitivity reactions to foods, drugs, and insects in 2012

“…6 The influence of maternal pregnancy diets was addressed by examining a large (n 5 61,980) Danish birth cohort database. 12 Although food allergy was not investigated, children of mothers with frequent intake of peanut during pregnancy, as compared with those without, were less likely (OR, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.44-0.98) to have children with asthma at 18 months of age, with a similar finding for tree nut consumption. Whether this reflects a generally ''healthier'' diet or is a study result affected by reverse causation remains to be determined in controlled studies.…”

Mortality in Asthma-Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Overlap in the United States

“…489 Similar data have been shown in a very large Danish National birth cohort, with an association between ingestion of peanuts, tree nuts and/or fish during pregnancy and a decreased risk of asthma in the offspring. 490,491 No dietary changes during pregnancy are therefore recommended for prevention of allergies or asthma.…”