ABSTRACT
Despite the high prevalence of neurodevelopmental disorders, there are a lack of clinical studies examining the impact of pregnancy diet on child neurodevelopment. This observational clinical study examined the associations between pregnancy dietary patterns and neurodevelopmental diagnoses, as well as their symptoms, in a prospective cohort of 10-year-old children (n=508). Data-driven dietary patterns were derived from self-reported food frequency questionnaires. An Unhealthy dietary pattern in pregnancy (per SD change) was significantly associated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) OR 1.66 [1.21 - 2.27], p=0.002 and autism diagnosis OR 2.22 [1.33 - 3.74], p=0.002 and associated symptoms p<0.001. Findings for ADHD were validated in two large (n=656, n=348), independent mother-child cohorts via blood metabolome modelling. Objective metabolite scores, assessed at five timepoints in mothers and children in two independent mother-child cohorts, indicated that the strongest association with ADHD was during early-to mid-pregnancy. These results provide evidence for targeted prenatal dietary interventions to prevent neurodevelopmental disorders in children.
Competing Interest Statement
BE is part of the Advisory Board of Eli Lilly Denmark A/S, Janssen Cilag, Lundbeck Pharma A/S, and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd; and has received lecture fees from Bristol-Myers Squibb, Boehringer Ingelheim, Otsuka Pharma Scandinavia AB, Eli Lilly Company, and Lundbeck Pharma A/S. BYGo has been the leader of a Lundbeck Foundation Centre of Excellence for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS) (January 2009 to December 2021), which was partially financed by an independent grant from the Lundbeck Foundation based on international review and partially financed by the Mental Health Services in the Capital Region of Denmark, the University of Copenhagen, and other foundations. All grants are the property of the Mental Health Services in the Capital Region of Denmark and administered by them. She has no other conflicts to disclose. JL S is a scientific advisor for Precion Inc and a consultant to Tru Diagnostic, Inc. Remaining authors declare no potential, perceived, or real conflict of interest regarding the content of this manuscript. The funding agencies did not have any role in design and conduct of the study; collection, management, and interpretation of the data; or preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript. No pharmaceutical company was involved in the study.
Funding Statement
We acknowledge all funding received by COPSAC, listed on www.copsac.com. The Lundbeck Foundation (Grant no R16-A1694 and R269-2017-5); The Ministry of Health (Grant no 903516); Danish Council for Strategic Research (Grant no 0603-00280B) and The Capital Region Research Foundation have provided core support to the COPSAC research centre. This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Unions Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No. 946228) (BC). MAR is funded by the Novo Nordisk Foundation (Grant no NNF21OC0068517). CP was supported by an Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) L3 Investigator Grant (1196508) and by a grant from the Lundbeck Foundation (ID: R246-2016-3237). JL-S (R01HL123915, R01HL155742, and R01HL141826) and SHC (K01HL153941) are funded through the National Institute of Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Author Declarations
I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained.
Yes
The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below:
The Ethics Committee for Copenhagen, Copenhagen University, COPSAC2010: H-B-2008-093 and Danish Data Protection Agency, COPSAC2010: 2015-41-3696
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