Association between maternal caffeine intake during pregnancy and child development at 6 and 12 months: The Japan Environment and Children's Study.

Background: Caffeine intake by pregnant women may have neurodevelopmental effects on the fetus due to adenosine antagonism. However, there are insufficient data and inconsistent results from epidemiological studies on the effect of maternal caffeine intake on child development.
Aims: This study examined the association between mothers' estimated caffeine intake during pregnancy and their children's score on the Japanese version of the Ages & Stages Questionnaires™ (J-ASQ) at 6 and 12 months of age.
Study Design: The study is a part of nationwide prospective birth-cohort study: the Japan Environment and Children's Study.
Subjects: In total, 87,106 participants with the Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) data and J-ASQ at 6 or 12 months of age were included in the study.
Outcome Measures: The data were analyzed by logistic regression analysis to determine whether the scores of the five subscales on the J-ASQ were below the cutoff point as the dependent variable.
Results: The results showed that children born to mothers who consumed >300 mg caffeine per day had a 1.11-fold increased odds of gross motor developmental delay at 12 months of age (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.114 [95 % CI: 1.013-1.226]).
Conclusions: Issues in gross motor development can emerge prior to future developmental issues. Therefore, further studies on developmental outcomes in older children, including the future outcomes of the children who participated in this study, are needed.
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