Study Too much sugar in pregnancy Increased risk of childhood asthma and allergy?

A lot of sugar harms the offspring
High sugar intake during pregnancy could be associated with an increased risk of atopic and allergic diseases for the children. British scientists came to this conclusion.

Too much sugar during pregnancy harms the child. (Image: PhotoSG / fotolia.com)

The consumption of refined sugar containing fructose corn syrup has risen sharply in recent decades. In the same timeframe, allergic diseases have increased in western countries.

Scientists at Queen Mary University in London explored the question of whether there is a causal connection here. This is conceivable because the metabolism of fructose in the liver is associated with an inflammatory stimulus and the increased formation of uric acid could promote an allergic TH2 response of the immune system.

The research team has evaluated the data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), which has been accompanying a cohort of children since the pregnancy of their mothers since the early 1990s. They evaluated the nutritional questionnaire information provided by the mothers and correlated it with the atopic disease rate.

The children of the mothers with the highest sugar consumption became 38% more likely to have atopy. These children were even twice as likely to suffer from atopic asthma as children from mothers with the lowest sugar intake.

However, the results have yet to be confirmed in further investigations. The study can be found here.