Background

Studies evaluating effects of prenatal polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) intake on childhood asthma reveal mixed results. Inconsistencies may result from not accounting for important modifying factors such as maternal asthma or child sex.

Objective

To evaluate whether associations between prenatal PUFA intake and childhood asthma are modified by prenatal active maternal asthma or child sex in 412 mother-child dyads.

Methods

Energy-adjusted prenatal dietary and supplement intakes of omega-3 (n-3) and omega-6 (n-6) PUFAs were estimated using the Block98 Food Frequency Questionnaire, administered during pregnancy. Mothers reported asthma in children followed prospectively to 4.0 plus or minus 1.7 years. Generalized additive models with smooth terms for PUFA (n-3, n-6, n-6/n-3 ratio) effects were used to investigate associations between PUFAs and child asthma, without prespecifying the form of these relationships, including effect modification by active maternal asthma or child sex.

Results

Among mothers (40% Black, 31% Hispanic), 22% had active asthma in pregnancy; 17.5% of children developed asthma. Lower maternal n-3 PUFA intake was significantly associated with risk of childhood asthma (P = .03), in particular among children of mothers with active asthma and low n-3 PUFA intake (P = .01). This inverse association was more apparent in girls (P = .01) compared with boys (P = .30), regardless of maternal asthma status. For n-6 PUFA and the n-6/n-3 ratio, there was a lower risk of childhood asthma in the midrange of intake and increased risk at higher intake (n-6 PUFA P = .10, n-6/n-3 ratio P = .13).

Conclusion

Consideration of factors that modify effects of prenatal PUFA intake on childhood asthma has implications for designing intervention strategies tailored to impact those at greatest risk.

中文翻译：

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妊娠期母亲活动性哮喘影响多不饱和脂肪酸摄入与儿童哮喘之间的关联

背景

评估产前多不饱和脂肪酸 (PUFA) 摄入对儿童哮喘的影响的研究显示结果喜忧参半。不一致可能是由于没有考虑重要的修正因素，例如母亲哮喘或儿童性行为。

客观的

评估产前 PUFA 摄入量与儿童哮喘之间的关联是否会因 412 名母子对的产前活动性母体哮喘或儿童性行为而改变。

方法

使用怀孕期间进行的 Block98 食物频率问卷估计了能量调整的产前饮食和补充摄入量的 omega-3 (n-3) 和 omega-6 (n-6) PUFA。母亲报告儿童哮喘的前瞻性随访至 4.0 正负 1.7 年。具有平滑项 PUFA（n-3、n-6、n-6/n-3 比率）效应的广义加性模型用于研究 PUFA 与儿童哮喘之间的关联，但未预先指定这些关系的形式，包括通过活跃的母亲哮喘或儿童性行为。

结果

在母亲中（40% 黑人，31% 西班牙裔），22% 在怀孕期间患有活动性哮喘；17.5% 的儿童出现哮喘。较低的母亲 n-3 PUFA 摄入量与儿童哮喘的风险显着相关 ( P = .03)，特别是在患有活动性哮喘和 n-3 PUFA 摄入量低的母亲的孩子中 ( P = .01)。与男孩 ( P = .30) 相比，这种反向关联在女孩 ( P = .01)中更为明显，无论母亲的哮喘状况如何。对于 n-6 PUFA 和 n-6/n-3 比率，在中等摄入量范围内儿童哮喘的风险较低，而在较高摄入量时风险增加（n-6 PUFA P = .10，n-6/n -3 比率P = .13)。

结论

考虑改变产前 PUFA 摄入对儿童哮喘的影响的因素对于设计干预策略以影响风险最大的人具有重要意义。