Despite their conclusions presented in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), these researchers point out that it would be premature to change nutritional recommendations on gluten consumption during pregnancy. However, doctors, researchers and patients “should be aware that eating too much gluten can increase a child's risk of type 1 diabetes”.
Gluten is a generic name for proteins found in wheat, rye and barley, and is thought to affect the development of type 1 diabetes. Animal studies show that a diet without gluten during pregnancy can almost completely prevent type 1 diabetes in offspring, but until now no studies have been conducted in pregnant women.
The team from the Bartholin Institute in Denmark therefore looked at whether gluten consumption during pregnancy was associated with the risk of type 1 diabetes in children, using data from 63,529 pregnant women participating in a Danish national cohort between 1996 and 2002. Participants reported their diet by food frequency questionnaire at the 25th week of pregnancy and data of type 1 diabetes in children were searched in the Danish Diabetes Registry. This large study shows that:
- the average consumption of averages 13 g / day, ranging from less than 7 g / day to more than 20 g / day,
- 247 cases of type 1 diabetes (a rate of 0.37%) in the children of the participants were identified during the follow-up,
- after taking into account potentially possible confounding factors (mother's age, weight and BMI, total energy intake and smoking during pregnancy), the risk of type 1 diabetes in children is found to be associated in a dose-dependent manner to daily gluten consumption.
- Thus, the children of mothers with the highest gluten consumption (>20 g / day) vs the children of mothers with the lowest gluten consumption (<7 g / day) have a risk multiplied by 2 of developing diabetes mellitus. type 1 during the 15-year follow-up period.
Admittedly, this is the finding of an association , not a cause and effect relationship, so it is not possible to draw definitive conclusions. However, this high-quality study conducted on a large sample confirms in humans the results already observed in animals. While the underlying mechanisms of this association remain to be clarified, they could include increased inflammation or increased intestinal permeability favorable to the development of type 1 diabetes.
If the study therefore provides an indication to clinicians and their patients, other evidence will be necessary before modifying the dietary recommendations for pregnant women.
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