Prenatal Flavonoids Linked to Lower Child Respiratory Risk

TOPLINE:

Children born to mothers with a higher intake of dietary flavonoids during pregnancy, such as from tea, strawberries, or apples, had lower odds of wheezing and asthma at approximately 4 years of age.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers analyzed data from 906 mother-child dyads in a pregnancy cohort in Tennessee.
• The mothers (average age, 26.8 years) completed food frequency questionnaires during the second trimester, which the researchers used to estimate total dietary flavonoids and the amount in seven flavonoid subclasses.
• The primary outcomes were parent-reported wheeze or asthma in the child at approximately 4 years of age.

TAKEAWAY:

• The overall prevalence of current wheeze and asthma in children was 19.4% and 15.8%, respectively.
• At approximately 4 years of age, children whose mothers had the highest flavonoid intake during pregnancy had 42% lower odds of current wheeze (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.58; 95% CI, 0.35-0.96) and 47% lower odds of current asthma (aOR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.31-0.91) than those whose mothers had the lowest intake.
• Among the different flavonoid subclasses, a higher prenatal intake of proanthocyanidin was associated with lower odds of asthma in children (aOR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.35-0.98).

IN PRACTICE:

“The current study conducted in a racially diverse population in the United States provides novel evidence that higher intakes of dietary flavonoids during pregnancy could have potential beneficial impacts on child wheeze and asthma in later life,” the authors of this study wrote.

SOURCE:

Terryl J. Hartman, PhD, with Emory University in Atlanta, was the corresponding author of the study, which was published online on March 15 in Pediatric Allergy and Immunology.

LIMITATIONS:

The questionnaire used in this study was not specifically designed to measure flavonoid intake. No clear dose-response relationship was detected. Although the researchers used energy-adjusted dietary flavonoid values, residual confounding is possible.

DISCLOSURES:

The study was supported by the Urban Child Institute, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Center for Research Resources. The authors disclosed no conflicts of interest.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.