Umeå University's logo

Background: Maternal diet during pregnancy is considered a potential modifiable risk factor for allergic diseases in offspring. The dietary inflammatory index (DII) is a tool to assess the inflammatory potential of the diet and has been suggested to be associated with offspring allergy development. Its association with food allergy and immunoglobulin E (IgE) sensitization in children remains understudied.

Methods: This study analyzed 4709 mother-partner-child triads from the NorthPop Birth Cohort in Sweden. Maternal DII scores were calculated from a food frequency questionnaire administered at gestational week 34. Allergy outcomes at 18 months included parent-reported physician-diagnosed food allergy, parent-reported eczema and atopic eczema according to UK Working Party criteria, parent-reported ever wheeze, parent-reported physician-diagnosed asthma, and IgE sensitization to food and airborne allergens. Associations between maternal DII scores (continuous and quartiles) and allergic outcomes were assessed using logistic regression, adjusting for maternal age, allergic heredity, farm living, region of birth, siblings, and education.

Results: At age 18 months, 4.9% of children had physician-diagnosed food allergy, 30.6% had eczema, 11.4% had atopic eczema, 15.9% reported ever wheeze, 4.1% had physician-diagnosed asthma, and 19% were IgE sensitized. No significant associations were found between maternal DII scores and the allergic outcomes of interest.

Conclusion: This large birth cohort study found no association between maternal DII during pregnancy and allergic diseases or IgE sensitization in 18-month-old children, suggesting that a proinflammatory diet during pregnancy does not influence early allergic outcomes. Further research is needed to clarify the role of maternal diet in offspring immune development.