Maternal Dietary Supplement Use and Development of Islet Autoimmunity in the offspring: the TEDDY Study.

OBJECTIVE: We investigated the association between maternal use of vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids (n-3 FAs) supplements during pregnancy and risk of islet autoimmunity (IA) in the offspring.

METHODS: The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young (TEDDY) Study is prospectively following 8676 children with increased genetic risk for type 1 diabetes in Finland, Germany, Sweden, and the US. Blood samples were collected every 3 months between 3 and 48 months of age then every 6 months thereafter to determine persistent IA. Duration, frequency, and supplement dose during pregnancy were recalled by mothers at 3-4 months postpartum. Cumulative intakes of supplemental vitamin D and n-3 FAs were analyzed as continuous or binary variables. We applied time-to-event analysis to study the association between maternal supplement use and IA, adjusting for country, HLA DR-DQ genotype, family history of type 1 diabetes and sex. Secondary outcomes included IAA or GADA as the first appearing autoantibody.

RESULTS: As of February 2018, there were 747 (9.0%) children with IA. Vitamin D supplement intake during pregnancy (any vs none) was not associated with risk for IA (hazard ratio (HR) 1.11; 95% CI 0.94, 1.31); neither was cumulative vitamin D supplement intake. Supplemental n-3 FA intake was similarly not associated with IA risk (HR: 1.19, 95% CI 0.98, 1.45). Similar lack of association was observed for either IAA or GADA as the first appearing autoantibody.

CONCLUSIONS: The TEDDY cohort showed no evidence of benefit regarding IA risk for vitamin D or n-3 FA supplementation during pregnancy. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.