The impact of maternal anxiety during pregnancy on children's eczema and allergic rhinitis: The Ma'anshan birth cohort study

Jixing Zhou; Pengui Wu; Wenjing Cai; Jingru Lu; Yufan Guo; Yuzhu Teng; Juan Tong; Guopeng Gao; Shuangqin Yan; Fangbiao Tao; Kun Huang

doi:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2024.111621

The impact of maternal anxiety during pregnancy on children's eczema and allergic rhinitis: The Ma'anshan birth cohort study

J Psychosom Res. 2024 Feb 21:181:111621. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2024.111621. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Jixing Zhou¹, Pengui Wu¹, Wenjing Cai¹, Jingru Lu¹, Yufan Guo¹, Yuzhu Teng¹, Juan Tong¹, Guopeng Gao², Shuangqin Yan³, Fangbiao Tao¹, Kun Huang⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, Anhui Province, China; Key Laboratory of Population Health Across Life Cycle (AHMU), MOE, Hefei 230032, China; NHC Key Laboratory of study on abnormal gametes and reproductive tract, Hefei 230032, Anhui Province, China; Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory of Environment and Population Health Across the Life Course, Hefei 230032, Anhui Province, China.
² Maternal and Child Health Care Center of Ma'anshan, No 24 Jiashan Road, Ma'anshan 243011, Anhui Province, China.
³ Department of Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, Anhui Province, China; Maternal and Child Health Care Center of Ma'anshan, No 24 Jiashan Road, Ma'anshan 243011, Anhui Province, China.
⁴ Department of Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, Anhui Province, China; Key Laboratory of Population Health Across Life Cycle (AHMU), MOE, Hefei 230032, China; NHC Key Laboratory of study on abnormal gametes and reproductive tract, Hefei 230032, Anhui Province, China; Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory of Environment and Population Health Across the Life Course, Hefei 230032, Anhui Province, China. Electronic address: ahmuhuangk@163.com.

PMID: 38636299
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2024.111621

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the associations between maternal exposure to anxiety during pregnancy and the susceptibility of offspring to eczema and allergic rhinitis and the possibility of sensitivity periods and cumulative effects.

Methods: The study's sample consisted of 3160 mother-child pairs from the Ma'anshan Birth Cohort Study. Maternal anxiety was repeatedly measured in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd trimesters of pregnancy using the Chinese version of the Pregnancy-Related Anxiety Scale. Information regarding children's eczema and allergic rhinitis diagnoses was collected through parental reports at 12, 24, 36 and 48 months of age. Binary logistic regression models were used for statistical analysis and corrected for multiple comparisons using the false discovery rate (FDR) method.

Results: Children whose mothers experienced anxiety throughout pregnancy had the highest odds of developing total eczema (aOR 1.45, 95% CI 1.02-2.07) and total allergic rhinitis (aOR 1.67, 95% CI 1.17-2.37) between the ages of 6 and 48 months. The higher the trajectory of the maternal anxiety scores throughout pregnancy, the higher the odds of total eczema (aOR 1.65, 95% CI 1.14-2.40) and allergic rhinitis (aOR 1.84, 95% CI 1.28-2.66) in their offspring. The association between maternal anxiety and children's eczema was mainly concentrated in the first 24 months, whereas the association with allergic rhinitis was mainly concentrated in the 36-48 months.

Conclusion: Maternal anxiety during any trimester of pregnancy, especially with a consistently high trajectory of anxiety scores, was associated with higher odds of children's eczema and allergic rhinitis.

Keywords: Allergic rhinitis; Anxiety; Cohort; Eczema; Pregnancy; Preschool age.