[Early feeding in infancy and atopic dermatitis - a prospective observational study]

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Allergy and Immunology
• Nutritional Science
• Dermatology

Context:

• Primary prevention of allergic diseases in high-risk infants often involves hypoallergenic infant formulas (HA) when breastfeeding is insufficient.
• Understanding the long-term effects of infant nutrition on allergic disease development is crucial for public health guidelines.

Purpose:

• To investigate the preventive effect of breastfeeding versus HA-nutrition on atopic dermatitis (AD) in high-risk infants up to two years of age.
• To monitor weight gain and weight increase in infants fed with HA compared to breastfed infants.

Summary:

• A study followed 174 high-risk newborns, comparing exclusively breastfed infants (n=45) with those primarily fed HA (n=61).
• At six months, HA-fed infants showed significantly higher body weight and weight increase compared to breastfed infants.
• The incidence of AD and SCORAD scores were comparable between groups at 6 to 24 months. Milk-specific IgE and BLG-specific PBMC proliferation did not predict AD development.

Impact:

• Nutritional interventions with HA formulas do not appear to increase the risk of AD in high-risk infants compared to breastfeeding.
• HA-fed infants exhibit accelerated weight gain in early infancy, which warrants consideration in growth monitoring.
• Biomarkers like IgE and PBMC proliferation are not reliable predictors for AD development in this high-risk population, suggesting complex etiological factors.