Early Nutrition

Abstract

Celiac disease (CD) is an autoimmune disorder caused by ingestion of gluten in genetically predisposed individuals. It is a chronic, multiorgan disease in which small-intestinal mucosal damage may lead to malabsorption of nutrients. In the last years, several studies suggested a protective role of breast-feeding and/or the timing and quantity of gluten introduction in the subsequent development of CD. Especially, prolonged breast feeding during the introduction of gluten-containing feeding has been associated with a reduced risk of developing CD in infancy. The focus of this review was to present the actual knowledge of the possible preventive influence of early nutrition on the risk to develop CD.

Breast‐feeding regulates immune system development via transforming growth factor‐β in mice pups

“…[3][4][5] Breast-feeding prevents respiratory infection, 6 diarrhea, 7 urinary tract infection, 8 otitis media, 9 and necrotizing enterocolitis. 10 Epidemiological studies suggest that breast milk reduces the risk of various immune-mediated childhood diseases, including type 1 diabetes, 11 celiac disease, 12 and inflammatory bowel disease. 13 A relationship between breast-feeding and the development of allergic diseases, including atopic dermatitis, 14 food allergies, and asthma has also been identified.…”

Self-assessment and parental assessment of quality of life children with coeliac disease

“…Evaluation of the quality of life of the patients in general and therefore patients with celiac disease has become the practice of the past half century [1]. Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder caused by the ingestion of gluten in persons who have a hereditary predisposition for this disease.…”

Diagnostic challenges of celiac disease in a young child

“…[1] This disease carries a chronic pattern with multiorgan impairment, in which the duodenal mucosal damage will lead to a chronic malabsorption syndrome. [2] The etiology of CD is still not fully understood, but the multifactorial determinism is well documented, involving both genetic and environmental factors. Recently, apart from the well-known specific haplotypes, there were identified another 40 genomic loci associated with the development of CD, which also interfere with a great amount of other autoimmune disorders.…”

“…Therefore, several preventive strategies have been proposed, such as breast-feeding, the timing of gluten introduction into infants’ diet or the amount of gluten that should be introduced in their diet in order to acquire tolerance for gluten. [2] Nevertheless, further studies are required that should focus on assessing the impact of these nutritional strategies in genetically susceptible individuals for CD.…”