PS-061 Maternal Fatty Acid Composition During Early Pregnancy And Asthma At Age 7 Years In The Amsterdam Born Children And Their Development (abcd) Cohort

Abstract

Background and aims Fetal exposure to polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) might influence the risk of childhood asthma. Epidemiologic studies suggest decreased risks of asthma after high intake of omega-3 and many women take omega-3 supplements during pregnancy. Few studies have maternal PUFA blood levels We examined the relationship between maternal PUFA blood levels during early pregnancy and asthma in the offspring at age 7 years in a population based prospective cohort Methods In 2,105 women, we determined maternal PUFA levels in plasma phospholipids drawn at about week 13 of pregnancy. Child asthma at age 7 (n = 154 cases) was based on parental report of physician diagnosis. We categorised PUFA levels and omega-3 to omega-6 ratios in quartiles with the lowest quartile as the reference category in multivariate logistic regression. Risk ratios were adjusted for: gestational age at blood draw; maternal education; western ethnicity; maternal age; parental asthma; and prepregnancy body mass index Results Higher omega-3 levels were related to lower asthma risk with a trend across the quartiles (risk ratio for the top quartile = 0.73, 95{\%} CI (0.45-1.17, P trend across quartiles = 0.04) and higher omega-6 levels showed opposite associations but also not statistically significant and with no significant trend. Higher ratios of omega-3 to omega-6 were associated with slightly lower risks of asthma with a trend across quartiles (risk ratio for top quartile = 0.80, 95{\%} CI 0.50-1.27, P trend across quartiles = 0.04) Conclusions We found some suggestion of a reduced risk of childhood asthma at age 7 with higher maternal plasma levels of omega-3 and a higher ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 PUFAs.