Maternal perinatal dietary patterns affect food allergy development in susceptible infants

Abstract

The increasing incidence of food allergy (FA) can be attributed to interactions between genes and environment, but these interactions are not yet fully clear. We aimed to evaluate the interaction between infant genetic variations and maternal dietary patterns for risk factors in the development of FA. We used COCOA birth cohort of 1628 infants, born between 2007 and 2015. Maternal dietary intakes were assessed at 26 weeks of pregnancy by a food frequency questionnaire and grouped according to five dietary patterns. Infant cord blood samples were genotyped at 12 loci. Gut microbiota in infants’ stools at 6 months was analyzed. Among 1628 infants, 147 (9.0%) were diagnosed with FA. A maternal diet characterized by higher intake of confectioneries during pregnancy was associated with greater prevalence of FA [adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 1.517, P = .02]; such dietary pattern tended to be higher in trans-fat (r = 0.498, P < .001); such development of FA was associated with longer periods of breast feeding (adjusted OR = 1.792, P = .03), and this dietary pattern was more significantly related to development of FA in infants with homozygous TT genotype of CD14 (rs2569190) and more than one copy of GSTM1 and GSTT1. The synergic effect of high maternal confectionery dietary pattern and SNPs of CD14 or GSTM1 induced gut microbiota alterations including decreased alph diversity and increased Firmicutes or Verrucomicrobia. A maternal diet during pregnancy that majorly consists of confectionery products, combined with a longer ensuing period of breastfeeding may lead to development of FA, which may be a harmful effect of trans fat in the infant; and the polymorphisms in CD14 and GST of the infant play a role in that susceptibility to FA. This synergic interaction of perinatal dietary pattern and infant genetic variation might induce infant gut microbiota dysbiosis which could development infant FA.