Am J Clin Nutr. 2026 Jul 10:101431. doi: 10.1016/j.ajcnut.2026.101431. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Dietary vitamins play a role in antioxidant defense and immunoregulation. However, prospective studies exploring the association between vitamin intakes during pregnancy and the child’s risk of type 1 diabetes are limited.

OBJECTIVE: This population-based prospective cohort study aimed to investigate the association between maternal intake of vitamins A, C, D, and E during pregnancy and the risk of type 1 diabetes in children.

METHODS: We included 85,244 children born between 2002 and 2009 in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa), with follow-up until December 31, 2021. Maternal intake of vitamins from food and dietary supplements from conception to 22^nd week of pregnancy was assessed with a validated food frequency questionnaire. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to estimate hazard ratios (HR), adjusting for background factors.

RESULTS: During follow-up, 529 (0.6%) children were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at a mean age of 9.4 (SD 4.1) years. No associations were observed between maternal pregnancy intake of vitamin A (HR 0.993; 95% CI 0.983-1.003 per 100 μg), vitamin C (HR 1.000; 95% CI 0.993-1.007 per 10 mg), vitamin D (HR 0.991; 95% CI 0.978-1.003 per 1 μg), or vitamin E (HR 0.999; 95% CI 0.996-1.004 per 10 mg) and the risk of type 1 diabetes in the child when adjusted for potential confounders. The results were similar when intakes were assessed separately from food and dietary supplement, and after restriction to children with HLA DQ2- and/or -DQ8 risk haplotypes.

CONCLUSION: This prospective cohort study did not support the hypothesis that higher maternal intake of vitamins A, C, D, and E during pregnancy would decrease the risk of type 1 diabetes in the child. Corroborated with previous evidence, our findings support a general pattern of null associations.

PMID:42431596 | DOI:10.1016/j.ajcnut.2026.101431