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Dietary shaping of the early life metabolome and its role in healthy lung and brain development

Project description

Association of maternal diet with childhood asthma and neurodevelopment

Asthma and behavioural problems due to neurodevelopmental delay are common childhood disorders. The findings of recent randomised trials in the Danish COPSAC mother-child cohort, and replicated in the American VDAART vitamin D trial, suggest that pregnancy supplements with n-3 long-chained polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 LCPUFA) and high-dose vitamin D reduced offspring asthma risk, improved cognitive scores, and accelerated language and milestone achievements. The EU-funded DEFEND project will deepen our understanding of the link between asthma and neurodevelopment with dietary supplements and diet in pregnancy and early childhood. The project will identify metabolites and significant biochemical pathways and promote healthy lung and brain development through personalised diet interventions during pregnancy.

Objective

Asthma and behavioral problems related to neurodevelopmental delay such as ADHD and autism are common childhood disorder with lack of insight in disease mechanisms and no preventive measures, which is an unmet medical and societal need. In the Danish COPSAC mother-child cohort, I showed in two randomized trials that pregnancy supplements with n-3 long-chained polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 LCPUFA) and high-dose vitamin D reduced offspring asthma risk, improved cognitive scores and accelerated language and milestone achievement, which was replicated in the American VDAART vitamin D trial. This holds the promise for primary prevention but establishing underlying biochemical mechanisms and effect modification by maternal and early life diet and host genetics remains to achieve a personalized preventive strategy targeting supplements only to those women, whose offspring will benefit from it. This research project aims to understand how dietary supplements and diet in pregnancy and early life shapes the child’s metabolism and how this is linked to asthma and neurodevelopment, using longitudinal untargeted and targeted metabolomics profiles from more than 1,500 mother-child pairs in COPSAC and VDAART, detailed data on maternal and infant diet, the early life exposome, and genetics and genomics data. The objective is to identify metabolites and biochemical pathways of importance for asthma and neurodevelopment, focusing on n-3/n-6 LCPUFAs, sphingolipids and tryptophan, with the ultimate goal to achieve healthy lung and brain development through personalized diet interventions during pregnancy. The transdisciplinary study group lead by the applicant consisting of MDs with pediatric, respiratory and psychiatric expertise, wet and dry lab metabolomics experts and bioinformaticians will bridge basic and clinical sciences in an international collaboration between COPSAC, Denmark, and VDAART at Harvard Medical School, US.

Host institution

REGION HOVEDSTADEN
Net EU contribution
€ 1 454 780,89
Address
KONGENS VAENGE 2
3400 Hillerod
Denmark

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Region
Danmark Hovedstaden Nordsjælland
Activity type
Public bodies (excluding Research Organisations and Secondary or Higher Education Establishments)
Links
Total cost
€ 1 454 780,89

Beneficiaries (2)