Maternal Late-Pregnancy Serum Unmetabolized Folic Acid Concentrations Are Not Associated with Infant Allergic Disease: A Prospective Cohort Study

Background: The increase in childhood allergic disease in recent decades has coincided with increased folic acid intakes during pregnancy. Circulating unmetabolized folic acid (UMFA) has been proposed as a biomarker of excessive folic acid intake. Objective: We aimed to determine if late-pregnancy serum UMFA and total folate concentrations were associated with allergic disease risk in the offspring at 1 y of age in a population at high risk of allergy. Methods: The cohort consisted of 561 mother-infant pairs from Western Australia. To be eligible the infant had to have a first-degree relative (mother, father, or sibling) with a history of medically diagnosed allergic disease. Maternal venous blood was collected between 36 and 40 wk of gestation. Serum UMFA was measured by LC-tandem MS. Serum total folate was determined using a microbiological method with chloramphenicol-resistant Lactobacillus rhamnosus as the test organism, and was collected between 36 and 40 wk of gestation. UMFA concentrations were measured by tandem MS using stable isotope dilution; folate concentrations were determined using the microbiological method with standardized kits. Infant allergic disease outcomes of medically diagnosed eczema, steroid-treated eczema, atopic eczema, IgE-mediated food allergy, allergen sensitization, and medically diagnosed wheeze were assessed at 1 y of age. Results: Median (IQR) concentrations for UMFA and serum folate were 1.6 (0.6-4.7) and 53.2 (32.6-74.5) nmol/L, respectively. Of the infants, 34.6% had medically diagnosed eczema, 26.4% allergen sensitization, and 14.9% had an IgE-mediated food allergy. In both adjusted and unadjusted models there was little evidence of association between UMFA or serum folate and any of the infant allergy outcomes. Conclusions: In this cohort of children at high risk of allergic disease there was no association between maternal UMFA or serum folate concentrations measured in late pregnancy and allergic disease outcomes at 1 y of age.

Automated summary

In a cohort study of 561 mother-infant pairs from Western Australia, late-pregnancy serum UMFA and total folate concentrations were found to have little evidence of association with allergic disease risk in offspring at 1 year of age in a high-risk population for allergies.