Sugary drinks may lead to asthma in children, according to a new study.
According to a longitudinal study from Harvard University and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, children have a significantly higher risk of developing asthma if their mothers had elevated fructose intake in the second trimester. High fructose intake at 2 years old was also associated with higher rates of asthma.
Fructose, found largely in sweetened beverages, is already associated with several other inflammatory conditions, such as diabetes, hypertension and gout. The new study, led by Dr. Lakiea Wright, suggests that it may be linked to asthma as well. The researchers analyzed data on 1,111 mother-child pairs that had been collected as part of the Project Viva longitudinal pre-birth cohort study. Using self-reported food intake information, they estimated fructose intake for the mothers between the first and second trimesters, and for the children at age two.
After dividing the subjects into quartiles by fructose intake, the researchers found that children whose mothers fell in the highest quartile had significantly higher BMIs in mid-childhood and were more likely to have asthma than those in the lower quartiles. Children who had high levels of fructose consumption at age two also had higher rates of mid-childhood asthma. The most common forms of fructose intake were sweetened drinks like soda for the mothers and sweetened juices for children at two years old.
Dr. Wright said in her presentation of the findings, "We found that sociodemographic factors, such as race and income, and measures of adiposity were associated with fructose intake. Early-life exposure to fructose may influence asthma development in children."
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