Infant nutrition and allergy

Abstract

Over the past several decades, the incidence of atopic diseases such as asthma, atopic dermatitis and food allergies has increased dramatically. Although atopic diseases have a clear genetic basis, environmental factors, including early infant nutrition, may have an important influence on their development. Therefore, attempts have been made to reduce the risk of the development of allergy using dietary modifications, mainly focused on longer breast-feeding and delayed introduction or elimination of foods identified as potentially most allergenic. Recently, there is also an increasing interest in the active prevention of atopy using specific dietary components. Many studies have shown that breast-feeding may have the protective effect against future atopic dermatitis and early childhood wheezing. Concerning complementary feeding, there is evidence that the introduction of complementary foods before 4 months of age may increase the risk for atopic dermatitis. However, there is no current convincing evidence that delaying introduction of solids after 6 months of age has a significant protective effect on the development of atopic disease regardless of whether infants are fed cow's milk protein formula or human subject's milk, and this includes delaying the introduction of foods that are considered to be highly allergic, such as fish, eggs and foods containing peanut protein. In conclusion, as early nutrition may have profound implications for long-term health and atopy later in life, it presents an opportunity to prevent or delay the onset of atopic diseases.

Breastfeeding is Associated with Reduced Childhood Hospitalization: Evidence from a Scottish Birth Cohort (1997-2009)

“…The relatively lower risk of hospitalization for eczema and allergies among formula-fed infants aged 6 months or older was contrary to the plausible mechanisms for its action 37 and the findings of some 13,26-28,38,39 but not all 40,41 studies. This “inverse” pattern may be associated with influences not measured in our study (eg, prenatal sensitization, family history, 42 parental knowledge and health seeking behavior, 43 vitamin D deficiency, 44 exposure to environmental contaminants, or the age that solid foods were introduced).…”

Associação entre história de aleitamento e relatos de hábitos orais e alergia em crianças

“…Estudos atuais tem demonstrado que a amamentação natural pode ter efeito protetor contra o surgimento de doenças respiratórias atópicas como por exemplo, asma atópica (MIŠAK, 2011).Em contrapartida, neste estudo, não foi encontrada relação estatisticamente significante entre o tipo de aleitamento fornecido ao bebê e surgimento de alergias. Do mesmo modo, a composição do leite humano é heterogênea e sofre influências de inúmeras outras condições ambientais maternas e/ou gestacionais, podendo, muitas vezes,não proporcionar efeito protetor à algumas alterações sistêmicas(COUTINHO; SILVA, 1996;VITOLO, 1994).…”

Lactation and Neonatal Nutrition: Defining and Refining the Critical Questions

“…Data from animal models suggest that allergen exposure via human milk mediates development of regulatory T cells in neonates that, in turn, protect the animal from developing asthma when later challenged with the allergen [39]. Whether these findings translate to humans remains an important question given that the incidence of childhood allergy continues to increase [40]. …”