Maternal Fiber Intake During Pregnancy and Development of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms Across Childhood: The Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort Study

Abstract

Background Epidemiological studies suggest that maternal diet quality during pregnancy may influence the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders in offspring. Here, we investigated associations between maternal intake of dietary fiber and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms in early childhood. Methods We used longitudinal data of up to 21,852 mother-father-child trios (49.2% female offspring) from MoBa (the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort Study). The relationships between maternal fiber intake during pregnancy and offspring ADHD symptoms at ages 3, 5, and 8 years were examined using 1) multivariate regression (overall levels of ADHD symptoms), 2) latent class analysis (subclasses of ADHD symptoms by sex at each age), and 3) latent growth curves (longitudinal change in offspring ADHD symptoms). Covariates were ADHD polygenic scores in child and parents, total energy intake and energy-adjusted sugar intake, parental ages at birth of the child, and sociodemographic factors. Results Higher maternal prenatal fiber intake was associated with lower offspring ADHD symptom scores at all ages (Bage3 = −0.14 [95% CI, −0.18 to −0.10]; Bage5 = −0.14 [95% CI, −0.19 to −0.09]; Bage8 = −0.14 [95% CI, −0.20 to −0.09]). Of the derived low/middle/high subclasses of ADHD symptoms, fiber was associated with lower risk of belonging to the middle subclass for boys and girls and to the high subclass for girls only (middle: odds ratioboys 0.91 [95% CI, 0.86 to 0.97]/odds ratiogirls 0.86 [95% CI, 0.81 to 0.91]; high: odds ratiogirls 0.82 [95% CI, 0.72 to 0.94]). Maternal fiber intake and rate of change in child ADHD symptoms across ages were not associated. Conclusions Low prenatal maternal fiber intake may increase symptom levels of ADHD in offspring during childhood, independently of genetic predisposition to ADHD, unhealthy dietary exposures, and sociodemographic factors.