Abstract

The prevalence of maternal oral contraceptive pills (OCP) use and that of childhood asthma are high in western countries. The aim of this study is to examine the association of OCP use with childhood wheeze and allergic diseases in Japan. Relevant data were extracted from a hospital based birth cohort study named as Tokyo-Childrens Health, Illness and Development Study (T-CHILD) of which questionnaire conducted during pregnancy included maternal history and duration of OCP use. To identify wheeze and allergic diseases in the children, the questionnaire of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) was used. Logistic regression models were applied to estimate those association and adjustments were made for maternal history of allergy, maternal education level, maternal age at pregnancy, maternal BMI, maternal smoking during pregnancy, mode of delivery, gestational age at delivery, daycare attendance, number of previous live births, and gender of child. OCP use was associated with ever wheeze (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.62, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.10–2.40), current wheeze (aOR, 1.59, 95% CI, 1.01–2.50), ever asthma (aOR, 1.65, 95% CI, 1.02–2.65), and ever rhinitis (aOR, 1.90, 95% CI, 1.30–2.80). Compared with no prior OCP use, using OCP for more than three months statistically increased the odds of ever wheeze (P = 0.012), current wheeze (P = 0.035), and ever rhinitis (P = 0.002). Our findings suggest that maternal OCP use has a role in the development of wheeze, asthma and rhinitis in children. Extended use of OCP is likely to increase the risk of wheeze and rhinitis.

Abstract

In-utero nutrition is an under-studied aspect of cognitive development. Fruit has been an important dietary constituent for early hominins and humans. Among 808 eligible CHILD-Edmonton sub-cohort subjects, 688 (85%) had 1-year cognitive outcome data. We found that each maternal daily serving of fruit (sum of fruit plus 100% fruit juice) consumed during pregnancy was associated with a 2.38 point increase in 1-year cognitive development (95% CI 0.39, 4.37, p < 0.05). Consistent with this, we found 30% higher learning Performance index (PI) scores in Drosophila offspring from parents who consumed 30% fruit juice supplementation prenatally (PI: 85.7, SE 1.8, p < 0.05) compared to the offspring of standard diet parents (PI: 65.0 SE 3.4). Using the Drosophila model, we also show that the cyclic adenylate monophosphate (cAMP) pathway may be a major regulator of this effect, as prenatal fruit associated cognitive enhancement was blocked in Drosophila rutabaga mutants with reduced Ca2 + -Calmodulin-dependent adenylyl cyclase. Moreover, gestation is a critical time for this effect as postnatal fruit intake did not enhance cognitive performance in either humans or Drosophila . Our study supports increased fruit consumption during pregnancy with significant increases in infant cognitive performance. Validation in Drosophila helps control for potential participant bias or unmeasured confounders.