Tolerance to baked milk indicates children will outgrow allergy more quickly

New research has shown that tolerance to baked milk is a marker of transient IgE-mediated cow's milk allergy, whereas reactivity to baked milk indicates the allergy will be more persistent. In addition, when compared with strict avoidance, the addition of baked milk to the diet of those milk-allergic children who could tolerate it appeared to help achieve tolerance to unheated milk as well.

The 88 children who participated in the study were evaluated for tolerance to baked milk present in muffins. The 65 who were found to be tolerant to this form of milk then underwent sequential food challenges to baked cheese over the course of approximately 3 years. Immunologic parameters were measured at each food challenge visit, and results of these tests showed that at the end of the study 60% could tolerate unheated milk.

The children who were initially tolerant to baked milk were 28 times more likely to become tolerant to unheated milk compared with the children who could not tolerate baked milk.

Of those who could tolerate it, the group that included baked milk in their diet were 16 times more likely to become unheated milk tolerant than those who did not include it in their diet.

Reference: Kim et al. 2011. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. DOI:10.1016/j.jaci.2011.04.036