Sugar Intake During Pregnancy Linked to Allergic Asthma in Children

07 Jul 2017 --- Children born to mothers who consumed large amounts of sugar during pregnancy may have an increased risk of allergy and allergic asthma, according to an early study from Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) involving almost 9,000 mother-child pairs. The researchers have put forward that the associations may be explained by a high maternal intake of fructose causing a persistent postnatal allergic immune response leading to allergic inflammation in the developing lung.

The findings are based on data from a world-leading birth cohort study, the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), also known as “Children of the 90s.” The cohort recruited mothers who were pregnant in the early 1990s and has been following up their offspring ever since.

The current study, which is published in the European Respiratory Journal, analyzed associations between maternal intake of free sugars in pregnancy and allergy (defined by positive skin tests to common allergens, namely dust mite, cat and grass) and asthma at seven years of age.

Free sugars comprise sugars (monosaccharides and disaccharides) added to foods or drinks by the manufacturer, cook or consumer, as well as sugars naturally present in honey, syrups and unsweetened fruit juices. The intake of free sugars was estimated by a food frequency questionnaire in the last trimester of pregnancy.

While there was only weak evidence for a link between free sugar intake in pregnancy and asthma overall, there were strong positive associations with allergy and allergic asthma (where the child was diagnosed with asthma and had positive skin tests to allergens). 

When comparing the 20 percent of mothers with the highest sugar intake versus the 20 percent of mothers with the lowest sugar intake, there was an increased risk of 38 percent for allergy in the offspring (73 percent for allergy to two or more allergens) and 101 percent for allergic asthma. The team found no association with eczema or hay fever.

As the study is observational, it does not prove a causal link between maternal sugar intake and allergies or asthma. A randomized controlled trial would be needed to definitively test causality.

“We cannot say on the basis of these observations that a high intake of sugar by mothers in pregnancy is definitely causing allergy and allergic asthma in their offspring. However, given the extremely high consumption of sugar in the West, we will certainly be investigating this hypothesis further with some urgency,” says lead researcher Professor Seif Shaheen from QMUL

“The first step is to see whether we can replicate these findings in a different cohort of mothers and children. If we can, then we will design a trial to test whether we can prevent childhood allergy and allergic asthma by reducing the consumption of sugar by mothers during pregnancy. In the meantime, we would recommend that pregnant women follow current guidelines and avoid excessive sugar consumption,” Shaheen adds.

In their analyses, the researchers controlled for numerous potential confounders, such as background maternal characteristics, social factors and other aspects of maternal diet, including foods and nutrients that have been previously linked to childhood asthma and allergy. Importantly, the offspring’s free sugar intake in early childhood was found to have no association with the outcomes seen in the analysis, the researchers say.