Prepregnancy Eating Disorders Linked to Wheezing, Asthma in Offspring

TUESDAY, Dec. 9, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- Prepregnancy eating disorders (EDs) are associated with an increased risk for preschool wheezing and school-aged asthma in offspring, according to a study published online Dec. 2 in Thorax.Maja Popovic, Ph.D., from the University of Turin in Italy, and colleagues examined the associations between maternal EDs and respiratory outcomes among offspring using data from 131,495 mother-child pairs across seven cohorts from the European Union Child Cohort Network. Associations between maternal prepregnancy EDs and preschool wheezing and school-age asthma were assessed in the primary analyses.The prevalence of prepregnancy EDs varied from 0.8 percent (health records) to 17.0 percent (self-reported lifetime EDs). The prevalence of preschool wheezing varied from 20.7 to 49.6 percent, while school-age asthma prevalence ranged from 2.1 to 17.3 percent. The researchers observed associations for prepregnancy EDs with preschool wheezing and school-age asthma (odds ratio, 1.25 and 1.26, respectively). After exclusion of mothers with depression/anxiety, these estimates were slightly attenuated but remained directionally consistent with the main analyses. A weak positive association was seen with lung function. Across ED subtypes, the associations were largely consistent; no clear pattern was seen by timing of exposure."The analyses on lung function add some caution in the interpretation of the results, as potential bias mechanisms, such as maternal overreporting of child respiratory outcomes or attrition in follow-up, might have influenced these findings," the authors write.Abstract/Full Text.Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

Prepregnancy Eating Disorders Linked to Wheezing, Asthma in Offspring

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