Effects of maternal sugar intake during pregnancy on allergies in offspring: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: To our knowledge, there is no comprehensive evidence quantifying the plausibility of the association between maternal free sugar intake during pregnancy and the development of offspring's allergic diseases. Thus, this systematic review examines the weight of evidence for causality from cohort studies on the association between maternal free sugar intake during pregnancy and the development of allergies in offspring. METHODS: The present meta-analysis is prepared and reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses guidelines. We search PUBMED, Scopus, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library databases through October, 2021. All clinical trials to assess the efficacy of maternal sugar intake during pregnancy on allergies in offspring are considered eligible for analysis. The Comprehensive Meta-Analysis Software 2 program is used for statistical analyses of the pooled data. A P value < .05 is considered statistically significant. The outcome measure is development of allergic disease among offspring assessed by any method (parental history, doctor diagnosed, or questionnaire based). RESULTS: It is hypothesized that high free sugar consumption during pregnancy may be associated with the development of allergies in offspring.