Asthma in Children May Be Caused by Early Life Sugar Intake
Prenatal and early life consumption of fructose and fructose-containing beverages may raise children’s risk of developing asthma by age 7 to 9 years, according to a recent study.1
Fructose is a key contributor to total sugar intake and may specifically affect the airway.
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To explore the effects of fructose consumption on childhood asthma risk, Sheryl L. Rifas-Shiman, MPH, of Harvard Medical School in Boston, and colleagues evaluated 1068 pairs of mothers and children enrolled in the Project Viva cohort.
Mothers were administered questionnaires about their food and beverage consumption following the first and second trimesters of pregnancy, as well as their children’s food and beverage consumption by age 3.3 years.
Approximately 19% of children had developed asthma by mid-childhood. Results of the study indicated that children whose mothers were in the highest quartile of fructose (46 g per day) and fructose-containing beverages (2 servings per day) consumption were 63% and 61% more likely, respectively, to develop asthma by mid-childhood vs children whose mothers were in the lowest quartile (21 g of fructose and 0 servings of fructose-containing beverages per day).
Additionally, the researchers found that children in the highest quartile of early life fructose consumption had a 64% higher risk of developing asthma by mid-childhood vs those in the lowest quartile (44 g vs 15 g fructose per day).
The researchers noted that the findings had been adjusted for demographic and other factors.
“[A]voiding high intake of sugary beverages during pregnancy and in early childhood could be one of several ways to reduce the risk of childhood asthma,” Rifas-Shiman said.2
—Christina Vogt
References:
1. Wright LS, Rifas-Shiman SL, Oken E, Litonjua AA, Gold DR. Prenatal and early-life fructose, fructose-containing beverages, and mid-childhood asthma. Ann Am Thorac Soc. https://www.thoracic.org/about/newsroom/press-releases/resources/sugar-and-asthma.pdf?_zs=0rhOM1&_zl=lxaB4.
2. Consuming sugary drinks during pregnancy may increase asthma risk in mid-childhood [press release]. American Thoracic Society (ATS). Accessed December 8, 2017.