Asthma at age 20 increased if vitamin D during pregnancy was higher than 50 ng – Oct 2015

The long-term programming effect of maternal 25-hydroxyvitamin D in pregnancy on allergic airway disease and lung function in offspring after 20 to 25 years of follow-up.

J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2015 Jul;136(1):169-176.e2. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2014.12.1924. Epub 2015 Jan 30.
Hansen S1, Maslova E2, Strøm M2, Linneberg A3, Halldorsson TI4, Granström C2, Dahl R5, Hoffmann HJ6, Olsen SF7.

VitaminDWiki Summary

Compared to 30 to 50 ng of vitamin D
80% increased chance of asthma if mother had > 50 ng of vitamin D
70% less risk of asthma hospitalizations if mother had < 20 ng of vitamin D

This seems to conflict with previous studies
Comments:

  • How did the women get such high levels of vitamin D decades ago?
  • Was the high vitamin D due to cod-liver oil, which results in high Vitamin A.
  • Notice that one of the authors is from Iceland – where cod-liver oil is used.
  • Tried to buy a copy of the PDF to investigate, but the publisher’s system had an error
  • There is a possibility that the high level of vitamin D during pregnancy programmed the child/adule to expect a lot of vitamin D in the environment, which it did not get. (epigenetics)

See also VitaminDWiki

1 Centre for Fetal Programming, Department of Epidemiology Research, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark. Electronic address: suu@ssi.dk.
2 Centre for Fetal Programming, Department of Epidemiology Research, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark.
3 Research Centre for Prevention and Health, Capital Region of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark; Department of Clinical Experimental Research, Glostrup University Hospital, Glostrup, Denmark; Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
4 Centre for Fetal Programming, Department of Epidemiology Research, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark; Faculty of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland; Unit for Nutrition Research, Landspitali University Hospital, Reykjavik, Iceland.
5 Allergy Centre, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark; Department of Pulmonary Medicine and Allergy, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
6 Department of Pulmonary Medicine and Allergy, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
7 Centre for Fetal Programming, Department of Epidemiology Research, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark; Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Mass.

BACKGROUND:
High prenatal vitamin D status has been linked to decreased risk of atopic diseases in early childhood, but whether such relations persist until adulthood has not been explored.

OBJECTIVE:
We sought to examine the association between maternal 25-hydryxovitamin D (25[OH]D) concentrations and outcomes of allergic airway disease and lung function in offspring with 20 to 25 years of follow-up.

METHODS:
In a prospective birth cohort with 965 pregnant women enrolled in 1988-1989, maternal 25(OH)D concentrations were quantified in serum from gestational week 30 (n = 850 [88%]). Offspring were followed in nationwide registries with complete follow-up to the age of 25 years (n = 850 [100%]). Additionally, at age 20 years, outcomes of allergic airway disease and lung function were assessed in a subset of offspring by using blood samples and spirometry (n = 410 [45%]) and a questionnaire (n = 641 [70%]).

RESULTS:
Exposure to a high maternal 25(OH)D concentration (≥125 nmol/L) was associated with an increased risk of asthma hospitalizations in offspring (hazard ratio [HR], 1.81; 95% CI, 0.78-4.16) during 25 years of follow-up compared with the reference group (75-<125 nmol/L). Furthermore, there were lower risks of asthma hospitalizations (HR, 0.29; 95% CI, 0.08-1.02) and asthma medication use (HR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.35-0.95) in those exposed to a low maternal 25(OH)D concentration (<50 nmol/L). In a reduced set of participants, we found no associations between maternal 25(OH)D concentrations and offspring allergen-specific IgE, total IgE, and eosinophil cationic protein levels; self-reported doctor's diagnosis of asthma or hay fever; or lung function at 20 years of age.

CONCLUSIONS:
Our study does not provide support for a protective effect of a high maternal 25(OH)D concentration on outcomes of allergic airway disease and lung function at 20 to 25 years of age. In contrast, a high maternal 25(OH)D concentration might be associated with an increased risk of allergic diseases in offspring.

PMID: 25649083

5000 visitors, last modified 04 Nov, 2015,
Printer Friendly Follow this page for updates