Maternal Prenatal Diet and Colic and Eczema Among Infants
4 affiliations
- 1Division of Chronic Disease Across the Lifecourse, Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, Massachusetts
- 2Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, Department of Pediatrics, Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford, California
- 3Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts
- 4Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
Abstract
Importance: Infantile colic is a disorder of gut-brain interaction whose cause is poorly understood.
Objective: To estimate associations of maternal diet quality and intakes of specific allergenic foods with infant eczema and colic.
Design, Setting, and Participants: Project Viva prospective cohort of 2128 mother-child pairs unselected for atopic risk with recruitment in early pregnancy in Eastern Massachusetts from April 1999 to November 2002, with follow-up to October 2003, and data analysis November 2025 to July 2026.
Exposures: Prenatal diet via food frequency questionnaires in early pregnancy (median [IQR], 9.9 [8.8-11.3] weeks) and midpregnancy (median [IQR], 27.9 [26.7-28.8] weeks). The Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS) and Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) were calculated and intake of commonly allergenic foods was determined.
Main Outcomes and Measures: Maternal report of colic symptoms and eczema diagnosis at median (IQR) of 6.3 (6.0-6.8) months.
Results: Among 1324 pairs with exposure and outcome data, mean (SD) maternal age was 32.6 (4.6) years, 667 (50.4%) were nulliparous, and 532 (40.2%) reported a history of atopy; 152 (11.5%) infants had eczema alone, 273 (20.6%) had colic alone, and 61 (4.6%) had both. In multinomial logistic regression models adjusted for maternal age, race, ethnicity, education, parity, smoking, and atopy, greater mean (SD) MDS (4.6 [2.0] points) was associated with lower odds of colic and eczema (odds ratio [OR], 0.85; 95% CI, 0.74-0.98 per 1 point), and mean (SD) DII (−2.7 [1.3]) was associated with higher odds (OR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.12-1.61 per 1 point). Neither diet score was associated with eczema or colic alone. Seafood intake was associated with lower odds of colic and eczema combined (OR, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.58-0.97 per weekly serving). Nut intake was associated with higher risk for colic among those without eczema (eg, OR, 1.05; 95% CI, 1.00-1.09 per weekly serving of any nuts or peanuts), but not with colic and eczema combined (OR, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.88-1.07). Dairy or egg intakes were not associated with any outcomes. Associations of dietary scores and fish intake with colic were stronger among infants of atopic mothers.
Conclusions and Relevance: In this cohort study of 1324 mother-child pairs, poorer maternal diet quality and lower seafood intake were associated with infantile colic with eczema or maternal atopic history.
Related
- Prenatal substance exposure and 5-year child protection outcomes among infants not reported at birth
- Cost-utility of respiratory syncytial virus prefusion F (RSVpreF) maternal vaccine for disease prevention among colombian infants.
- Maternal Vaccination vs Nirsevimab Use and Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection Among Full-Term Infants
- Reappraising the topology of cell-free fetal DNA in maternal blood toward improved prenatal genetic diagnostics
- The Effect of Prenatal Education and Home Telecare Provided According to Watson Care Model on Spouses’ Readiness for Childbirth, Fear of Childbirth, and Maternal and Paternal Attachment: A Case Report
BibTeX
@article{oken2026maternal,
title = {{Maternal Prenatal Diet and Colic and Eczema Among Infants}},
author = {Emily Oken and Sheryl L. Rifas-Shiman and Karen M. Switkowski and Kari Nadeau and Jenifer R. Lightdale},
journal = {JAMA network open},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.38472},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13659562},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Maternal Prenatal Diet and Colic and Eczema Among Infants
AU - Emily Oken
AU - Sheryl L. Rifas-Shiman
AU - Karen M. Switkowski
AU - Kari Nadeau
AU - Jenifer R. Lightdale
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - JAMA network open
DO - 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.38472
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13659562
AB - Importance: Infantile colic is a disorder of gut-brain interaction whose cause is poorly understood. Objective: To estimate associations of maternal diet quality and intakes of specific allergenic foods with infant eczema and colic. Design, Setting, and Participants: Project Viva prospective cohort of 2128 mother-child pairs unselected for atopic risk with recruitment in early pregnancy in Eastern Massachusetts from April 1999 to November 2002, with follow-up to October 2003, and data analysis November 2025 to July 2026. Exposures: Prenatal diet via food frequency questionnaires in early pregnancy (median [IQR], 9.9 [8.8-11.3] weeks) and midpregnancy (median [IQR], 27.9 [26.7-28.8] weeks). The Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS) and Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) were calculated and intake of commonly allergenic foods was determined. Main Outcomes and Measures: Maternal report of colic symptoms and eczema diagnosis at median (IQR) of 6.3 (6.0-6.8) months. Results: Among 1324 pairs with exposure and outcome data, mean (SD) maternal age was 32.6 (4.6) years, 667 (50.4%) were nulliparous, and 532 (40.2%) reported a history of atopy; 152 (11.5%) infants had eczema alone, 273 (20.6%) had colic alone, and 61 (4.6%) had both. In multinomial logistic regression models adjusted for maternal age, race, ethnicity, education, parity, smoking, and atopy, greater mean (SD) MDS (4.6 [2.0] points) was associated with lower odds of colic and eczema (odds ratio [OR], 0.85; 95% CI, 0.74-0.98 per 1 point), and mean (SD) DII (−2.7 [1.3]) was associated with higher odds (OR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.12-1.61 per 1 point). Neither diet score was associated with eczema or colic alone. Seafood intake was associated with lower odds of colic and eczema combined (OR, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.58-0.97 per weekly serving). Nut intake was associated with higher risk for colic among those without eczema (eg, OR, 1.05; 95% CI, 1.00-1.09 per weekly serving of any nuts or peanuts), but not with colic and eczema combined (OR, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.88-1.07). Dairy or egg intakes were not associated with any outcomes. Associations of dietary scores and fish intake with colic were stronger among infants of atopic mothers. Conclusions and Relevance: In this cohort study of 1324 mother-child pairs, poorer maternal diet quality and lower seafood intake were associated with infantile colic with eczema or maternal atopic history.
SN - 2574-3805
ER -