Diet During Pregnancy May Influence Future Allergic or Autoimmune Disease Save

A systematic review of the literature on the relationship between diet during pregnancy, lactation, or the first year of life suggests that maternal ingestion of probiotic and fish oil supplementation may reduce risk of eczema and allergic sensitization to food, respectively.

Using the GRADE process, the authors found that 19 intervention trials suggest that oral supplementation with probiotics during late pregnancy and lactation may reduce risk of eczema (Risk Ratio [RR] 0.78; 95% CI 0.68–0.90).

The also found 6 trials suggesting that fish oil supplementation during pregnancy and lactation may reduce risk of allergic sensitisation to egg (RR 0.69).

Weaker evidence exists supporting that breastfeeding reduces risk of eczema during infancy, reduces the risk of type 1 diabetes mellitus or that probiotics reduce risk of allergic sensitisation to cow’s milk.

They found no evidence that prebiotic supplements, maternal allergenic food avoidance, and vitamin, mineral, fruit, or vegetable intake may influence risk of allergic or autoimmune disease.