Age at first exposure has little impact on infant food allergies

Monday, 23 August 2010 09:44

A birth cohort of 184 children in Sweden was followed to 18 months of age to investigate if the development of allergic diseases during the child's first 18 months of life is influenced by the time at which different food items were introduced into the child's diet.

Data was collected using diaries documenting feeding practices, and parental interviews were performed at 6 and 12 months of age. All children were tested for sensitization to common airborne and food allergens at 18 months of age.

On the whole, the infant’s age at introduction of most food items did not seem to influence allergy development. However, the results indicated the earlier the fish was introduced into the child's diet the lower was the frequency of eczema.

Reference: Hesselmar et al. 2010. Acta Paediatrica. DOI: 10.1111/j.1651-2227.2010.01939.x