High CRP levels during pregnancy may increase the risk of asthma in the offspring, suggests a recent study published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice.¹

To determine the association between antenatal systemic inflammation and allergic diseases in childhood, 522 mother-child pairs from the Vitamin D Antenatal Asthma Reduction Trial were recruited for this study. Plasma C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, indicative of systemic inflammation, were measured twice in early (10-18 weeks) and late pregnancy (32-38 weeks). Quarterly examinations were carried out for asthma, eczema, and allergic rhinitis in the children right from birth up to the age of 6 years.

Children of mothers with raised CRP levels during early gestation had greater probability of developing asthma by 6 years of age with adjusted odds ratio (aOR) of 1.76. High CRP levels during late pregnancy increased their risk of asthma by 2.5-folds with aOR of 2.45 at 6 years of age. A rise in CRP levels from early to late pregnancy doubled the risk of asthma by 6 years of age with aOR of 2.06. This association between prenatal CRP and childhood asthma was particularly robust among children with atopic asthma with aOR of 3.78 during early pregnancy and 4.84 for late pregnancy and 3.01 for rise in CRP from early to late gestation. “Early and late prenatal CRP mediated 96% and 86% of the association between maternal prepregnancy body mass index and offspring asthma, respectively” note the authors.

This study attempts to shed some light on the pathogenesis of childhood asthma and suggests that systemic inflammation during pregnancy, as shown by high CRP levels, may influence the risk of asthma in the offspring. The authors suggest further studies to investigate if controlling inflammation would reduce this risk and improve health of the offspring.

Reference

1. Chen YS, et al. The association of prenatal C-reactive protein levels with childhood asthma and atopy. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 2022 Sep 13;S2213-2198(22)00928-X. doi: 10.1016/j.jaip.2022.08.044.