Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40605146›Full record

SynthesisJournal of human nutrition and dietetics : the official journal of the British Dietetic Association2025

Vitamin A, C and/or E Intake During Pregnancy and Offspring Respiratory Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Vanessa E Murphy, Megan E Jensen, Soriah Harvey, Tesfalidet Beyene, Jake Gregson, Farihah Islam, William Huang, Katie Aistrope, Adam Collison

Abstract readSystematic ReviewMeta-Analysis
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Journal of human nutrition and dietetics : the official journal of the British Dietetic Association, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Vanessa E MurphySchool of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales, Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3282-1324
Megan E JensenSchool of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales, Australia.
Soriah HarveySchool of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales, Australia.
Tesfalidet BeyeneSchool of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales, Australia.
Jake GregsonSchool of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales, Australia.
Farihah IslamSchool of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales, Australia.
William HuangSchool of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales, Australia.
Katie AistropeSchool of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales, Australia.
Adam CollisonSchool of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales, Australia.

Funding

Vanessa Murphy is supported by an Investigator grant funded by the Medical Research Future Fund (Application number 1196252).
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionPoor respiratory health in childhood is common, and asthma is the most common chronic disease among children, for which there is no known cure. Maternal intake of vitamins (A, C, E) may be a modifiable nutritional exposure to reduce adverse respiratory health in offspring.

objectiveWe aimed to systematically review the evidence for the association between maternal vitamin (A, C, E) intake during pregnancy (via questionnaire or blood assay) and respiratory outcomes in the offspring.

methodsStudies identified through electronic databases were eligible if they assessed maternal levels and/or intake of vitamins A, C and/or E via dietary intake or supplements in pregnancy and respiratory outcomes in the first 5 years of life. Meta-analyses were conducted where possible. Outcomes included wheeze, cough, asthma, infant respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), respiratory tract infection (RTI) and lung function measurement.

resultsOf 1170 articles screened, 12 observational studies and six RCTs met the inclusion criteria (total sample size n = 58,769). Meta-analysis could not be performed for vitamin A; however, there was no evidence to suggest that maternal vitamin A intake improves early life respiratory outcomes in offspring. Two RCTs found that vitamin C supplementation (500 mg/day vs. placebo) reduced the incidence of wheeze at 12 months (n = 206 children) and 5 years (n = 213 children) in pregnancies exposed to smoking. In meta-analyses, maternal intake in the highest vitamin E quartile versus lowest reduced the odds of wheeze at 2 years by 36% (aOR: 0.64, 95% CI: 0.47-0.87, n = 2 observational studies, very low certainty); this was not true for vitamin C intake (aOR: 0.85, 95% CI: 0.63-1.16, n = 2 observational studies, very low certainty). Vitamin supplementation (C + E) was not associated with infant RDS (OR: 1.15, 95% CI: 0.80-1.64, n = 2 studies, moderate certainty) relative to placebo.

conclusionThere may be some benefit to vitamin C supplementation during pregnancy in the context of maternal smoking or higher maternal vitamin E intake during pregnancy, for reducing the risk of childhood wheeze in early life. This emerging evidence warrants further studies to enable translation into dietary guidelines.

Indexed as

Ascorbic AcidMaternal Nutritional Physiological PhenomenaPrenatal Exposure Delayed EffectsRespiratory Tract DiseasesVitamin AVitamin EVitaminsAsthmaChild, PreschoolDietary SupplementsFemaleHumansInfantPregnancyRespiratory SoundsAscorbic AcidVitamin AVitamin EVitaminsantioxidantschildhoodmaternalpregnancyrespiratoryvitamins

Identifiers

PMID40605146
PMCPMC12222920

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.