Abstract
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; Pfor 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.
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