Analysis: Vegetarian Diet during Pregnancy Lowers Risk of AD in Children

The study included data on more than 4,400 participants.

A new study published in Pediatric Allergy and Immunology suggested that a vegetarian diet during pregnancy was associated with a reduced risk for atopic dermatitis (AD) in children. 

Researchers looking at the Taiwan Birth Cohort Study (TBCS) database analyzed 24,200 mother-child pairs, and completed interviews with 20,172 participants in the study at 6 and 18 months. The authors employed a 1:10 matching strategy based on maternal age, education level, and child sed, and matched 408 mothers who kept a vegitarian diet during pregnancy with 4,080 nonvetigarian mothers. The total final dataset inlcuded 4,488 participants, and logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the associations between maternal vegitarian diets during pregnancy and the occurence of AD in children. 

According to the results, among TCBS participants, 292 (1.8%) mothers adhered to lacto-ovo vegitarianism and 116 (0.7%) adhered to veganbism, totaling 408 (2.4%) vegitariand suring pregnancy. Children of mothers who consumed a vegitarian diet during pregnancy showed a significantly lower risk of developing AD in their first 18 months of age (OR = 0.65, 95% CI = 0.45–0.93, P= 0.018).

"This study suggests that a vegetarian diet during pregnancy may lower the risk of AD in children," the authos concluded. "It is essential to carry out long-term follow-up to fully understand the impact of a mother's diet on allergic conditions."https://www.pcrm.org/news/health-nutrition/eczema-risk-may-be-related-maternal-diet-during-pregnancy

The authors reported no relevant financial disclosures for this research. 

SourceP: Su Y, Xie J, Jan R, Hsieh C. Association between a maternal vegetarian diet during pregnancy and the occurrence of atopic dermatitis in children. Pediatric Allergy and Immunology. 2023;34(12). doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/pai.14052