Maternal vitamin D, cord blood cytokines, and early childhood allergic diseases: a 2-year cohort study

OBJECTIVE: Maternal prenatal vitamin D is linked to offspring's disease risk, but its specific association with offspring's immune development is understudied. This study aimed to explore the relationships between maternal prenatal vitamin D, umbilical cord blood cytokines, and offspring's allergic diseases within 2 years of life. METHODS: Term infants born in 2023 at Shaoxing Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital (China) were included. Ten cord blood cytokines were quantified by flow cytometry. Logistic regression evaluated maternal vitamin d-child allergy and cytokine-allergy associations, with linear regression for vitamin d-cytokine relationships. RESULTS: After 2 years of follow-up, maternal prenatal vitamin D deficiency was linked to higher allergic disease risk in offspring (odds ratio = 1.71, 95% confidence interval:1.03-2.87), and maternal vitamin D levels correlated positively with cord blood interleukin-10 (r = 0.33, P < 0.001). After confounder adjustment, cord blood interleukin-4 (odds ratio = 2.38) and interleukin-10 (odds ratio = 0.78) emerged as independent risk and protective factors for childhood allergic diseases, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Normal maternal prenatal vitamin D status is tied to lower allergic disease risk in offspring, with umbilical cord blood cytokines (especially interleukin-4 and interleukin-10) potentially mediating this relationship in early childhood.