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Probiotic milk consumption in pregnancy and infancy and subsequent childhood allergic diseases

Randi J Bertelsen1, Anne Lise Brantsæter2, Maria C Magnus3

  • 1Department of Food, Water and Cosmetics, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway; Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Research Triangle Park, NC.

The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
|September 17, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Probiotic milk consumption during pregnancy and infancy may reduce the risk of infant eczema and rhinoconjunctivitis. However, it did not show an association with asthma development by age 36 months.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiome research
  • Pediatric allergy and immunology
  • Public health and epidemiology

Background:

  • The role of probiotics in influencing the infant microbiome and preventing allergic diseases is not fully understood.
  • Previous studies on probiotics for infant allergies primarily focused on high-risk infants.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between probiotic milk product consumption and the incidence of atopic eczema, rhinoconjunctivitis, and asthma in early childhood.
  • Utilized a large, population-based pregnancy cohort in Norway for this investigation.

Main Methods:

  • Examined data from 40,614 children within the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort study.
  • Assessed correlations between maternal probiotic milk intake during pregnancy and infant intake with reported allergic outcomes.
  • Employed general linear models to calculate relative risks (RRs), adjusting for potential confounding factors.

Main Results:

  • Maternal probiotic milk consumption during pregnancy was linked to a reduced risk of atopic eczema at 6 months (adjusted RR, 0.94) and rhinoconjunctivitis between 18-36 months (adjusted RR, 0.87).
  • Combined maternal and infant probiotic milk consumption showed a stronger association with reduced rhinoconjunctivitis risk (adjusted RR, 0.80).
  • No significant association was found between probiotic milk consumption and asthma incidence by 36 months of age.

Conclusions:

  • Consumption of probiotic milk products in a general population cohort was associated with lower incidence of atopic eczema and rhinoconjunctivitis.
  • Probiotic milk consumption did not demonstrate a significant association with the incidence of asthma by 36 months of age.
Abstract

Keywords:
AllergyBMIBody mass indexFFQFood frequency questionnaireMJMegajoulesMoBaNorwegian Mother and Child Cohort StudyRRRelative riskasthmaeczemamicrobiomeprobioticsrhinoconjunctivitis

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