Maternal B vitamin intake during pregnancy and wheeze and eczema in Japanese infants aged 16-24 months: the Osaka Maternal and Child Health Study.

It is uncertain whether B group vitamins are risk or preventive factors for allergic disorders. We prospectively investigated the association between maternal intake of folate and vitamins B(12) , B(6) , and B(2) during pregnancy and the risk of wheeze and eczema in the infants aged 16-24 months. Subjects were 763 Japanese mother-child pairs. Data on maternal intake during pregnancy were assessed with a diet history questionnaire (DHQ). Symptoms of wheeze and eczema were based on criteria of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood. Among 763 infants, 169 (22.1%) and 142 (18.6%) had symptoms of wheeze and eczema, respectively. There were no evident relationships between maternal consumption of folate, vitamin B(12) , vitamin B(6) , and vitamin B(2) during pregnancy and the risk of wheeze or eczema in the offspring after adjustment for maternal age, gestation at baseline, residential municipality at baseline, family income, maternal and paternal education, maternal and paternal history of asthma, atopic eczema, and allergic rhinitis, changes in maternal diet in the previous 1 month, season when data at baseline were collected, maternal smoking during pregnancy, baby's older siblings, baby's sex, baby's birth weight, household smoking in the same room as the infant, breastfeeding duration, age at which solid foods were introduced, age of infant at the third survey, and maternal intake of docosahexaenoic acid, n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, vitamin D, calcium, vitamin E, and β-carotene during pregnancy. Further investigation is warranted to draw conclusions as to the question of whether maternal B vitamin intake during pregnancy is related to the risk of childhood allergic disorders.