Maternal Prenatal Intake of Fructose Is Associated with Asthma in Children

Abstract

M O N D A Y 736 Maternal Prenatal Intake of Fructose Is Associated with Asthma in Children Lakiea S. Wright, MD, MAT, Sheryl Rifas-Shiman, MPH, Emily Oken, MD, Matthew Gillman, MD, SM, Augusto A. Litonjua, MD, MPH, Diane R. Gold, MD, MPH; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, Brigham and Women’s Hospital Division of Rhematology, Immunology & Allergy, Boston, MA, Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, HarvardMedical School, Channing Division of NetworkMedicine, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, Channing Laboratory, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA. RATIONALE: Intake of fructose may promote inflammation and associated conditions including obesity and asthma. We examined associations of maternal prenatal and child nutrient intake of fructose with childhood asthma, and hypothesized that higher fructose intake was associated with childhood asthma. METHODS: We studied 1,111 mother-child pairs from Project Viva, a longitudinal pre-birth cohort. Using food frequency questionnaires, we estimated maternal intake of fructose from beverages and foods during the first and second trimesters of pregnancy and child intake at 2 years. In midchildhood (median age 7.7 years), mothers reported physician diagnosed asthmawith current wheeze or use of asthmamedication via questionnaire. In a multivariable analysis, we examined associations of total fructose and beverage intake (per internal z-score) with asthma in mid-childhood, adjusted for maternal socio-demographics (age, education, and household income), pre-pregnancy BMI, pregnancy smoking status and child sex and race/ethnicity. RESULTS: In mid-childhood, asthma was common (19.5%) and mean (SD) BMI was 17.2 (3.1). Fructose intake during the first and second trimesters was associated with greater odds of asthma (OR 1.22; 95%CI, 1.03-1.44). Additionally, child fructose intake at 2 years of age was associated with greater odds of asthma in mid-childhood (OR 1.22; 95% CI;1.02-1.46). Different sources of fructose may underlie these associations. Maternal first and second trimester intake of sugar sweetened beverages (OR 1.20; 95% CI, 1.01-1.42) and child intake of juice, excluding orange juice (OR 1.34; 95% CI, 1.12-1.61) seem to be driving the fructose– asthma associations. CONCLUSIONS: Early life exposure to fructose may influence asthma development in children.