Association of allergies in children younger than 3 years with levels of maternal intake of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids or fish during pregnancy: A nationwide birth cohort study, the Japan Environment and Children's Study

Background: N-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) have anti-inflammatory properties and are expected to prevent the onset of allergies. However, epidemiological studies investigating the relationship between child allergies and maternal intake of n-3 PUFAs or fish have yielded inconsistent results. Methods: Following exclusions from a dataset comprising 103,057 records from the Japan Environment and Children's Study, 72,105 participants were divided into five groups according to mothers' intake of n-3 PUFAs or fish during pregnancy to assess the risk of their children being diagnosed with allergy by 3 years old. Adjusted odds ratios (aORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for child allergies were calculated using multivariable logistic regression analyses with reference to the lowest intake group. Results: Levels of maternal intake of n-3 PUFAs or fish showed inverted associations (i.e., reduced risk) with the incidence of physician-diagnosed allergic rhinoconjunctivitis or parent-reported symptoms of current rhinitis with eye symptoms at different time points and the cumulative incidence from birth to 3 years of age. Inverted associations were also found for current wheeze at 1-<2 years of age and current eczema at 1-<2 and 0-<3 years of age. However, for food allergies, no significant associations were observed in the incidence in each group compared with the lowest intake group at any age. Conclusions: The findings suggest that n-3 PUFA intake during pregnancy may reduce the risk of developing allergic diseases and symptoms in children. In addition, consumption of n-3 PUFAs or fish is very unlikely to increase the risk of allergy given that the results are from a country with high fish consumption. Trial registration: UMIN000030786 https://rctportal.niph.go.jp/detail/um?trial_id=UMIN000030786.