Abstract
Background: Iron deficiency during early life could affect the developing lung and immune system, and influence child's respiratory or allergy outcomes in later life.
Objective: To examine the associations of maternal iron status during early pregnancy with child's lung function, asthma, inhalant allergic sensitization, and physician-diagnosed inhalant allergy at school-age. Methods: In a population-based cohort study, among 3825 mother–child pairs, ferritin, transferrin concentrations, and transferrin saturation were measured from maternal venous blood samples during early pregnancy. In children at the age of 10 years, spirometry was used to determine child's lung function, current asthma and physician-diagnosed inhalant allergy were assessed by questionnaires, and inhalant allergic sensitization was measured by skin prick tests. We used multivariable regression models to examine the associations.
Results: After adjustment for gestational age at maternal iron status measurement and sociodemographic or lifestyle-related confounders, a higher maternal transferrin concentration was associated with a higher risk of physician-diagnosed inhalant allergy (odds ratio [95% confidence interval]: 1.13 [1.01 to1.26]), but not with lung function, asthma, or inhalant allergic sensitization. This association did not attenuate after further adjustment for maternal hemoglobin levels or early growth factors. We observed no consistent association of maternal ferritin concentrations or transferrin saturation with child's respiratory or allergy outcomes.
Conclusion: Higher maternal transferrin concentrations during pregnancy, reflecting lower serum iron levels, were associated with an increased risk of child's physician-diagnosed inhalant allergy but not lung outcomes. Underlying mechanisms and clinical implications need to be explored.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1771-1778 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Pediatric Pulmonology |
| Volume | 56 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| Early online date | 3 Mar 2021 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jun 2021 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The Generation R Study is made possible by financial support from the Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Erasmus University Rotterdam, and the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development. Hugo G. Quezada-Pinedo received funding from the Autoridad Nacional del Servicio Civil, Lima, Peru (Grant no. 046-2018-SERVIR/PE). Liesbeth Duijts received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program (LIFECYCLE, Grant agreement no. 733206, 2016; EUCAN-Connect Grant agreement no. 824989; ATHLETE, Grant agreement no. 874583). The researchers are independent of the funders. The study sponsors had no role in the study design, data analysis, interpretation of data, or writing of this report. The authors?gratefully acknowledge the contribution of children and their parents, general practitioners, hospitals, midwives, and pharmacies in Rotterdam.
Funding Information:
The Generation R Study is made possible by financial support from the Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Erasmus University Rotterdam, and the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development. Hugo G. Quezada‐Pinedo received funding from the Autoridad Nacional del Servicio Civil, Lima, Peru (Grant no. 046‐2018‐SERVIR/PE). Liesbeth Duijts received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program (LIFECYCLE, Grant agreement no. 733206, 2016; EUCAN‐Connect Grant agreement no. 824989; ATHLETE, Grant agreement no. 874583). The researchers are independent of the funders. The study sponsors had no role in the study design, data analysis, interpretation of data, or writing of this report. The authors gratefully acknowledge the contribution of children and their parents, general practitioners, hospitals, midwives, and pharmacies in Rotterdam.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Authors. Pediatric Pulmonology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC