What a mother eats during pregnancy may play a role in her child’s lifelong risk of type 1 diabetes, according to a large Danish study published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.
The research found that children whose mothers consumed more inflammation-promoting foods during mid-pregnancy were significantly more likely to develop type 1 diabetes during childhood or adolescence. Each one-point increase in the mother’s dietary inflammation score was associated with a 16% rise in diabetes risk.
Researchers analyzed data from over 67,000 mother-child pairs in the Danish National Birth Cohort, tracking diagnoses through national registries for an average of 17 years. The dietary inflammation score — called the EDII (Empirical Dietary Inflammatory Index) — was based on 38 food groups reported in a detailed questionnaire completed at 25 weeks of pregnancy.
Foods tied to higher inflammation scores included:
Red and processed meats
Fried foods and margarine
Sugary drinks and sweets
Refined grains like white bread and pasta
In contrast, lower inflammation scores were linked to diets higher in:
Whole grains and leafy greens
Garlic, tomatoes and fruit
Dark meat fish, tea and coffee
“Of particular note is the fact that three factors during mid pregnancy, a pro-inflammatory dietary pattern, gluten, and smoking, seemed to independently predict the child’s risk of type 1 diabetes,” the authors wrote.
The study also found a 36% increased risk associated with every 10-gram increase in daily gluten intake during pregnancy, and an elevated risk among women who smoked past the first trimester.
While the study can’t prove cause and effect, the researchers highlight mounting evidence that low-grade inflammation during pregnancy may alter fetal immune development in ways that raise the risk for autoimmune conditions like type 1 diabetes.
They conclude that mid-pregnancy may be a particularly sensitive window, and that maternal diet and lifestyle during this time may have long-term implications for a child’s immune health.
This study was supported by a wide range of institutions, including the European Foundation for the Study of Diabetes, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the Novo Nordisk Foundation and Innovation Fund Denmark. The Danish National Birth Cohort and Norwegian cohort data were funded by national research councils and foundations including the March of Dimes, the European Union and the Norwegian Ministry of Health and Care Services.