>Hi,

I am sure this has made news further afield thanAustralia]


 
ANU Media Release
News from The Australian National University
THURSDAY 12 JULY 2012
STUDY LINKS BREAST MILK TO NUT ALLERGIES
Children who are solely breast fed in the first six months of life are at
an increased risk of developing a nut allergy, research from The
Australian National University has found.
  
A joint research project between the ANU Medical School, part of the ANU
College of Medicine, Biology and Environment, and the ACT Health
Directorate, investigated a link between breast feeding and nut allergies
using the ACT Kindergarten Health Check Questionnaire given to the parents
of children starting primary school in the Territory.
  
Parents were asked to report if the child had a nut allergy, and on
feeding habits in the first six months of life. The study found that rates
of nut allergies in ACT children are increasing and children who were
breast fed were more likely to have a nut allergy.
  
„Some 3.9 per cent of children starting school in the ACT have a
parent-reported nut allergy, which is almost twice the rate of British
children of the same age,‰ said the study‚s aut hor and Professor of
General Practice at the ANU Medical School, Marjan Kljakovic.
  
The likelihood of developing a nut allergy was 1.5 times higher in
children who were solely breast fed in the first six months of life, than
in children who were exposed to other foods and fluids. Protection against
nut allergy was found in children who were fed food and fluids other than
breast milk.
  
„Our results contribute to the argument that breast feeding alone does not
appear to be protective against nut allergy in children ˆ it may, in fact,
be causative of allergy,‰ Professor Kljakovic said.
  
„Over time, health authorities‚ recommendations for infant feeding habits
have changed, recommending complementary foods such as solids and formula
be introduced later in life.
  
„Despite breast feeding being recommended as the sole source of nutrition
in the first six months of life, an increasing number of studies have
implicated breast feeding as a cause of the increasing trend in nut
allergy.
  
„Peanut allergy accounts for two-thirds of all fatal food-induced allergic
reactions. It is important for us to understand how feeding practices
might be playing a part,‰ he said.
  
The paper has been published in the International Journal of Pediatrics
and is available online.
  
For interviews: Professor Marjan Kljakovic, 02 6244 4946 / 0418 232 917
For media assistance: Sarina Talip, ANU Media ˆ 02 6125 7988 / 0416 249 241

Warm regards
Barb Glare
www.breastfeedingconferences.com.au
  

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