Premature Birth May Alter Effect of Early Feeding Patterns on Allergy NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Mar 24 - Delaying the introduction of solid food does not seem to protect infants from becoming allergic unless they are born prematurely, according to two separate reports in the Archives of Disease in Childhood for April. In one, Dr. Anne Zutavern at University Children's Hospital in Munich, Germany, and associates prospectively followed 642 children up until 5.5 years of age. When children were 1 year old, their mothers reported when different foods were introduced into the babies' diets. At final follow-up, persistent wheezing was present in 18.9%, atopy in 16.7% and eczema in 35.4%. Except for egg and milk, age when foods were introduced into the diet did not affect the development of hypersensitivity. In contrast to other reports, late introduction of milk or egg was linked to an increased risk of eczema after correcting for parental atopy, smoking, gender, maternal factors and breast feeding history. The adjusted odds ratio was 1.7 for milk introduced after 6 months of age, and it was 1.6 for egg introduced after 8 months. These findings are in accord with those of a study reported at this year's annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (See Reuters Health report, March 23, 2004). Their results "do not support the recommendations given by the guidelines for the prevention of asthma and allergy in general populations stating that the introduction of solids should be delayed for at least 4 to 6 months," Dr. Zutavern's group concludes. There are no data regarding feeding practices for preterm infants to prevent allergic disease, Dr. Jane Morgan and colleagues at the University of Surrey in Guildford, UK, note in the second report. They studied 257 infants born before 37 weeks gestation, and took into account gender, gestational age, parental atopy and smoking, and the presence of pets or siblings. For infants to whom four or more solid foods had been introduced by 17 weeks post-term, the adjusted odds ratio for eczema at 12 months of age was 3.49 compared with fewer foods introduced by the same time. Risk was also increased nearly 3-fold by having an atopic parent or by introduction of any solid food before 10 weeks of age. Existing guidelines are based on limited evidence and on studies whose findings are probably confounded by reverse causality, Drs. G. A. Khakoo and G. Lack at St. Mary's Hospital in London suggest in an Archives commentary. "These studies add to the current conflicting literature, which taken as a whole does not allow an authoritative statement to be made regarding the relation between the introduction of solids and the development of allergy," they add. Arch Dis Child 2004;89:295,303-314. *********************************************** To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest) To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet All commands go to [log in to unmask] The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html