Prenatal and Early Life Fructose, Fructose-Containing Beverages, and Midchildhood Asthma.

Abstract

RATIONALE:

Cross-sectional studies have linked intake of high-fructose corn syrup-sweetened beverages with asthma in schoolchildren.

OBJECTIVES:

To examine associations of maternal prenatal and early childhood intake of sugar-sweetened beverages and fructose with current asthma in midchildhood (median age, 7.7 yr).

METHODS:

We assessed maternal pregnancy (first- and second-trimester average) and child (median age, 3.3 yr) intake of sugar-sweetened beverages and total fructose using food frequency questionnaires in 1,068 mother-child pairs from Project Viva, a prospective prebirth cohort. In a multivariable analysis, we examined associations of quartiles of maternal and child sugar-sweetened beverage, juice, and total fructose intake with child current asthma in midchildhood, assessed by questionnaire as ever having doctor-diagnosed asthma plus taking asthma medications or reporting wheezing in the past 12 months.

RESULTS:

Higher maternal pregnancy sugar-sweetened beverage consumption (mean, 0.6 servings/d; range, 0-5) was associated with younger maternal age, nonwhite race/ethnicity, lower education and income, and higher prepregnancy body mass index. Adjusting for prepregnancy body mass index and other covariates, comparing quartile 4 with quartile 1, higher maternal pregnancy intake of sugar-sweetened beverages (odds ratio, 1.70; 95% confidence interval, 1.08-2.67) and total fructose (odds ratio, 1.58; 95% confidence interval, 0.98-2.53) were associated with greater odds of midchildhood current asthma (prevalence, 19%). Higher early childhood fructose intake (quartile 4 vs. quartile 1) was also associated with midchildhood current asthma in models adjusted for maternal sugar-sweetened beverages (odds ratio, 1.79; 95% confidence interval, 1.07-2.97) and after additional adjustment for midchildhood body mass index z-score (odds ratio, 1.77; 95% confidence interval, 1.06-2.95).

CONCLUSIONS:

Higher sugar-sweetened beverage and fructose intake during pregnancy and in early childhood was associated with childhood asthma development independent of adiposity.

• Authors: Lakiea S Wright, Sheryl L Rifas-Shiman, Emily Oken, Augusto A Litonjua, Diane R Gold
• Journal: Annals of the American Thoracic Society (Ann Am Thorac Soc) Vol. 15 Issue 2 Pg. 217-224 (02 2018) ISSN: 2325-6621 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 29219619 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.)

Chemical References

• High Fructose Corn Syrup
• Sweetening Agents
• Fructose

Topics

• Adult
• Asthma (diagnosis, epidemiology)
• Beverages (analysis)
• Child, Preschool
• Cohort Studies
• Correlation of Data
• Eating (physiology)
• Female
• Fructose (metabolism)
• High Fructose Corn Syrup (metabolism)
• Humans
• Male
• Pregnancy
• Pregnancy Trimesters (metabolism)
• Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects (diagnosis, epidemiology)
• Prospective Studies
• Risk Factors
• Sweetening Agents (metabolism)
• United States (epidemiology)