Summary โฃof the Research on โคmaternal Diet and Food Allergy (FA) in Infants
This research investigatesโ the relationship between a mother’s adherence to the Mediterraneanโข Diet (MedDiet)โฃ during pregnancy and lactation andโฃ the โgrowth of Food Allergy (FA) in their infants. Here’s a โคbreakdown โฃof the study:
Study โDesign &โข Participants:
* Cohort: A โคsubcohort of 430 mother-child pairs fromโฃ Greece (Athens, Ioannina, Thessaloniki) was analyzed.
* Groups: 336 mothers of infants with FA and 94 mothers of healthy infants โค(controls).
* Inclusion Criteria: Exclusive breastfeeding for at least twoโค months and โคcompletionโข of the MedDiet score questionnaire.
* Data Collection: Detailed facts wasโ gathered on demographics, family history ofโ allergies, maternal diet (pregnancy & lactation), antibiotic use,โฃ smoking habits, and infant follow-up (allergicโ conditions, antibiotic exposure, etc.). A MedDiet score was calculated based on weekly โintake ofโ 11 food groups.
Key Findings:
* MedDiet & FA Risk: Mothers of healthy infants had significantly higher MedDiet scores than mothers of infants with FA. Higher adherence to the MedDiet during pregnancy and โlactation was inversely associated withโข the risk of FA.
* Specific Food Groups – Pregnancy:
* Protective: >8 โฃweekly portions of fruit, >15 portions of full dairy products.
* Risk-Increasing: >1 portion of fish per week, >3 portions of poultry or red meat.
* Specific Food groups – Lactation:
*โ Protective: >12 weekly portions of โvegetables.
โ * Risk-Increasing: >3 weekly portions of poultry or red meat.
* Other Observations: โ A important proportion of mothers used antibiotics during pregnancy (21%), smoked (14%), or excluded foods from their diet (13%). About 30% of mothers had a history โคof atopy.
conclusions:
* Maternal adherence to the MedDiet during pregnancy and lactation appears to be associated with โa reduced risk โof FA in infants, although โthe results aren’tโ definitive (confidence intervals were close to 1).
* Specific dietary โcomponents seem to โคplay a role: fruit, vegetables, and full dairy products may beโ protective, while red meat,โ fish, and poultry may increase risk.
* The finding of increased risk with fish consumption is noted as perhaps linked to environmental pollutants in fish.
* Theโ study supports further research intoโฃ maternal nutrition as a potentialโ intervention strategy for preventing childhood FA.
In essence, the study โคsuggests that what a mother eats duringโข pregnancy andโข while breastfeeding can influence her โฃchild’s risk ofโค developing food allergies. Though, the authors โcaution โthat more research is needed to confirmโ these findings andโฃ establish a causal relationship.