Maternal dietary fatty acid intake during pregnancy and the risk of preclinical and clinical type 1 diabetes in the offspring

The aim of the present study was to examine the associations between the maternal intake of fatty acids during pregnancy and the risk of preclinical and clinical type 1 diabetes in the offspring. The study included 4887 children with human leucocyte antigen (HLA)-conferred type 1 diabetes susceptibility born during the years 1997-2004 from the Finnish Type 1 Diabetes Prediction and Prevention Study. Maternal diet was assessed with a validated FFQ. The offspring were observed at 3-to 12-month intervals for the appearance of type 1 diabetes-associated autoantibodies and development of clinical type 1 diabetes (average follow-up period: 4.6 years (range 0.5-11.5 years)). Altogether, 240 children developed preclinical type 1 diabetes and 112 children developed clinical type 1 diabetes. Piecewise linear log-hazard survival model and Cox proportional-hazards regression were used for statistical analyses. The maternal intake of palmitic acid (hazard ratio (HR) 0.82, 95% CI 0.67, 0.99) and high consumption of cheese during pregnancy (highest quarter v. intermediate half HR 0.52, 95% CI 0.31, 0.87) were associated with a decreased risk of clinical type 1 diabetes. The consumption of sour milk products (HR 1.14, 95% CI 1.02, 1.28), intake of protein from sour milk (HR 1.15, 95% CI 1.02, 1.29) and intake of fat from fresh milk (HR 1.43, 95% CI 1.04, 1.96) were associated with an increased risk of preclinical type 1 diabetes, and the intake of low-fat margarines (HR 0.67, 95% CI 0.49, 0.92) was associated with a decreased risk. No conclusive associations between maternal fatty acid intake or food consumption during pregnancy and the development of type 1 diabetes in the offspring were detected.