Maternal Diet and Neurodevelopmental Conditions

Can a mother’s diet during pregnancy influence her child’s brain development?

A recent study suggests it can.

The link between nutrition and brain development isn’t new; nutrients such as folic acid, omega-3 fatty acids, and iron have long been known to influence foetal brain growth. 

Recently, researchers at the University of Copenhagen have conducted a study analysing over 60,000 mother-child pairs. The study, published in Nature Metabolism, revealed a compelling link between maternal diet during pregnancy and the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders, specifically Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), with implications for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), in children. The study primarily focuses on ADHD, with the relationship to ASD explored as a secondary consideration due to their co-occurrence and shared risk factors. 

A Deep Dive into the Study

In the context of this study, a Western diet was characterised by a high intake of fat, sugar, and processed foods. The researchers conducted a comprehensive analysis using data from four existing mother-child cohort studies: Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood in 2000 and 2010 (COPSAC2000, COPSAC2010), the Danish National Birth Cohort (DNBC), and the Vitamin D Antenatal Asthma Reduction Trial (VDAART). These cohorts were selected as they had already collected extensive information relevant to the research question: COPSAC2010 provided high-resolution data with repeated biological sampling and clinical ADHD assessments, DNBC contributed large-scale population data to test links between diet and registry-based ADHD diagnoses, while VDAART offered validation of diet-metabolite relationships in a US population. Additionally, COPSAC2000 supported the findings with foetal blood spot metabolomics. 

"The greater a woman’s adherence to a Western diet in pregnancy, (...) the greater the risk appears to be for the child developing ADHD or autism”

By analysing and cross-validating results across these independent cohorts, the researchers were able to generate robust and generalisable insights into how maternal diet may influence a child’s risk of developing ADHD. The relationship between Western diet and ADHD development was initially observed across all four cohorts. However, after validation testing, only three cohorts confirmed a statistically significant relationship.  

The Results

In this study, researchers looked at metabolites - tiny molecules in the blood that are created when our bodies break down food, drugs, or chemicals. Metabolites can act like messengers or signals, giving clues about what is happening inside the body. 

The researchers found that 43 metabolites were more common in women who ate a Western diet during pregnancy, and some of these were linked to a higher risk of their child developing ADHD (15 out of 43). 

“We found that 15 of these 43 metabolites were particularly linked to the increased risk of ADHD”

The results suggest that even small deviations toward a Western diet are associated with a 66% higher risk of ADHD, and a 122% higher risk of ASD in children. The strongest associations were observed during the first and second trimesters, suggesting that early foetal brain development is particularly sensitive to maternal nutrition. 

While the study references both ADHD and ASD, its core findings are primarily focused on ADHD, as the association between a Western diet during pregnancy and increased risk of ADHD was consistently observed across multiple large cohorts and supported by biological markers in maternal blood. In contrast, the link to ASD appears to be less directly supported.. The cited 122% increased risk of ASD likely comes from a statistical association observed in one part of the data, but, unlike ADHD, this finding was not validated across multiple cohorts, backed by metabolomic evidence, nor explored in detail through clinical assessments. Given that ADHD and ASD frequently co-occur and share some overlapping risk factors, it’s likely that the researchers are suggesting that maternal diet may also influence ASD risk, but this remains a secondary and more speculative finding while the more robust evidence clearly centres on the relationship between a Western diet and ADHD. 

Final Thoughts

To conclude, maternal nutrition matters, perhaps more than we realised, and this research provides a strong case for re-evaluating dietary recommendations during pregnancy.

While diet is just one piece of the puzzle in development of ADHD and ASD, with continued research we can move toward a future where prenatal care includes nutrition as a supportive tool for foetal brain development, going beyond these conditions and towards better overall health. 

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This article was written by Freya Wardell and edited by Julia Dabrowska, with graphics produced by Suzana Sultan. If you enjoyed this article, be the first to be notified about new posts by signing up to become a WiNUK member (top right of this page)! Interested in writing for WiNUK yourself? Contact us through the blog page and the editors will be in touch.